The Lost Hatchling
by Raberba girl
Summary: The little girl should have been dead, but she wasn't." For Kenji, trying to forget his horrific past & be a normal kid becomes impossible when he witnesses little Suzume fall off a roof. She's not the only one with dragon wings. Rated for violence.
1. Hatchlings

The Lost Hatchling  
(stand-alone sequel to _Sapphire Scales_)  
A Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

**A/N: Rated because some of the violence in chapter 2 involves young children.**

**Chapter 1 - Hatchlings**

The little girl should have been dead, but she wasn't. Kenji stopped in his tracks when he saw why - he had made the last turn just in time to see her shake herself a little and fold a pair of dragon wings back into her skin. She was facing him, so he did not see any blood, though it was obvious that the back of her dress was in tatters.

"Suzume!" A second little girl ran up and hugged her anxiously. "Suzume, are you okay?"

"I'm all right, Neechan," the younger girl assured her, perfectly cheerfully.

Kenji slowly descended the last of the stairs, almost afraid of these deceptively normal-looking creatures. At the sound of his footsteps echoing in the deserted alley, the girls jumped and stared at him fearfully. Kenji stopped and swallowed. "Hi," he said in a voice that cracked.

They clutched each other, their eyes fixed on him, and said nothing. He did not like their expressions...he knew how it felt to be frightened like that.

He licked his dry lips and spoke again. "Does your back hurt much?"

"No," said the girl named Suzume in a small voice, looking a little puzzled.

She had to be lying. "Really? 'Cause mine does, when...when I try to do what you just did."

"I didn't do anything," she said in a shrill voice. "Go away!"

Kenji became very uncomfortable with the fact that he was the only person to have seen one of them fall off a roof. It made him feel somehow in charge of them. He was supposed to make sure they were okay, right? "Um...where are your parents?"

They did not answer, but the guilty looks on their faces said enough.

Kenji grinned, since he also knew what it was like to not do what he was told. "You want to stay with me for a while?"

"We're not supposed to go with strangers," the older girl said primly.

"Well, then I have to call your parents," Kenji challenged, trying to goad them into trusting him. Children with dragon wings were not safe on their own.

"396--" Suzume began to recite obediently, but then her older sister elbowed her. "Ow!"

"Don't tell him that, Suzume." The older girl looked warily at Kenji. "We can call them ourselves. Okay? Thank you." She bowed meaningfully, and Kenji shrugged.

"All right. Bye." He walked out of the alley and hid himself, watching for them to come out.

They never did. Instead, after a few minutes, he heard a blood-curdling scream - from above. Startled, Kenji stumbled out of his hiding place and looked up to find both girls falling toward him. Suzume's wings were spread as she followed her sister, calling after her hysterically. The older girl's wings were limp, and she was the one screaming - even as Kenji stared, her blood splattered over his face. He had only an instant to take in the scene; already his arms were coming up instinctively to catch her.

She was heavy, falling into his arms at that speed. Kenji crashed to the ground, twisting to keep her protected. He cried out as the impact jolted though his hip.

"Neechan!" Suzume cried as she landed and ran to them. "Neechan! Neechan! Neechan!" Her sister was still making the panicked, heart-rending shrieks of a child in pain.

Kenji felt almost too scared to breathe. He struggled to his feet, the injured girl clutched in his arms so that he was unable to grab Suzume's hand like he wanted to. "Come on," he croaked at her, and they ran.

They ran because, as Kenji had looked up to see the winged girl falling at him, he had glimpsed the face of the man who had cut her: gaunt-featured, with neatly tied back hair and a predatory grin beneath a decorated silk blindfold.

_'They've come for me, just like I knew they would,'_ a voice whispered in Kenji's mind. _'Megumi...you did your best. I probably should have told you more. My fault. It's always my fault. I wish I had the chance to say good-bye.'_

It hurt to run, his bruised hip throbbed every time his foot hit the ground. They were not going to get far at his limping pace. "Please," Suzume begged, clinging to his shirt-tail. "Please, Niisan, please help my sister."

The injured girl was clinging to him also, staring up at him, her eyes huge and wet with terror and pain.

"I--" he stammered, "I don't--"

People had been staring at the frantic high schooler, limping along with a bleeding child in his arms and another wailing at his heels, but now this was worse. Men in strange clothing were stepping out of the crowd, their expressions neither amazed, suspicious, nor concerned. They were grinning knowingly. Their eyes were strange, the irises looking like fractured glass. It was the same as the girls' eyes - and as the eyes Kenji saw every time he looked into a mirror.

_Dragons._

"And we thought we'd scored big with the little girls," one of the men drawled. Both his startlingly blonde hair and his clothes were designed to imitate flame. Grinning, he raised a finger and traced an X in the air. "Slash up the kid's face and he'd look a mighty lot like someone we know, eh?"

"Get away from us," Kenji snarled. A chorus of laughter rose up from his antagonists.

"Look at those eyes, would ya?"

"Blue to gold, just like Battousai...."

"Heheh, it's him all right."

All the passersby had prudently moved to the other side of the street. Some of them were anxiously watching with cell phones glued to their ears, but Kenji knew that any help from that quarter would not arrive in time - it might not even be enough.

Growling, Kenji shifted the child so that he supported her with only one arm, which freed his other hand to flick out the pocket knife that Megumi would kill him for having if she ever found out. Rather to his dismay, the men burst into jeering laughter. "Look at the little sword, just like his old man's!"

"No, haha, he forgot to reverse the blade!" For some reason they seemed genuinely amused by this, though no less dangerous.

Both girls were sobbing now, and Kenji was not sure he would have been able to pry away their terrified fingers even if he tried. _'What am I gonna do what am I gonna do what am I--'_

He had been awkwardly circling, trying and failing to keep them all in his sight at once, and now one of them struck from behind. The pain was sharp but small; Kenji stumbled to face his attacker and found himself snarling like an animal.

The man grinned and lowered the strange-looking gun he had apparently just fired. "That should hold you 'til we get you to Shishio-sama, kid."

Kenji unleashed a hoarse shout and flung the knife. He had been practicing, but even he was surprised when the blade thudded into his enemy's chest with a sick slurching sound. The man's mouth dropped open - then contorted with fury. Kenji only had time to turn his body aside to protect the child he was holding. Pain tore through his shoulder, and he yelled as he felt something like sharp spines piercing deep into his flesh.

The flame-haired man cursed and strode up to them. Kenji, barely able to move his arms because of the girl in one and the pain in the other, shouted at Suzume to run. Instead she sobbed and clung to his leg as if she would die if she let go of him.

"Get off him, fool!" The flame-haired man moved to strike. Kenji flinched, and his hand convulsed painfully in a failed attempt to protect himself, but the blow from the sword-hilt landed instead on the creature savaging his shoulder. The man - if it even _was_ a man anymore; Kenji was afraid to look - fell back with a cry of pain, and Kenji stumbled to his knees. A sudden dark fatigue was blotting out his thoughts, so that all he was aware of for a second was his desperation to protect the girls and the pain in his injured shoulder.

"N...Niisan...." Her desperate whisper stabbed through his heart.

_'They're counting on me, I can NOT give in,'_ he told himself savagely, and forced himself to his feet again despite the strong sleepiness dragging down at him. If he gave in to it, he would be caught again. If he gave in, the girls would suffer....

"You've damaged him, moron," the flame-haired man was growling. "How're you gonna explain that to Shishio-sama, eh? Just leave 'im alone, the tranquilizer will take him down in a few...." His voice trailed off as he saw Kenji, glaring fiercely, clutching the terrified girls, swaying a little but on his feet despite it all. "Hit him with another one," the flame-haired man ordered tonelessly.

Sirens had begun to wail in the distance, but the car that swerved up in that moment was only a little civilian vehicle. Kenji blinked hazily as the car screeched to a stop, and watched the flame-haired man slam into a nearby brick wall. He had never seen anyone get hit by a car before. It wasn't as bloody as he would have expected.

The sound of gunshots tore the air and Kenji ducked, pulling the children under his body without even pausing to think. Then he had to work very hard to stay crouched protectively over them, rather than keeling over on top of them.

"Kenji-san." The voice was female, calm and commanding.

He looked up in confusion. Lifting his head was difficult...heavy.

"Please get into the car, before Sawagejô-san revives."

"Tomoe-nee!" both girls were shrieking in frantic relief. Their piercing voices hurt.

Kenji dragged himself to his feet and fumbled at the back passenger door, grateful that Suzume had already tugged open the front one and was scrambling inside. He caught a glimpse of the driver who had spoken through the rolled-down window. She had long dark hair and the most frighteningly breathtaking face he had ever seen. She was calmly reaching over to help the child inside even as her other hand on the steering wheel still held a gun.

No time to think about that now. He could hear angry groans behind him - at least some of the dragons were still alive. Kenji set the girl as gently as he could on the far seat, wondering vaguely if the mysterious beauty would mind all the blood that was already staining her car. Then he dragged himself inside and collapsed, too groggy and hurt to remember to close the door after him.

The car peeled off anyway, and the last thing he heard before he allowed himself to lose consciousness was Suzume's tearful, shaky voice. "Tomoe-nee, I'm so sorry, we came to find you but we didn't tell Mommy and Daddy, and Neechan got hurt, and that big boy got hurt, and I'm sorry, please don't tell Mommy and Daddy, please can you fix it before Mommy and Daddy find out, I'm so sorry--"

"Hush, child." The comforting murmur bathed Kenji's ears, as if releasing him to sleep. "Hush. It will be all right."

o.o.o.o.o

The first thing Kenji was aware of when he woke was that his mouth tasted really gross. Swallowing painfully, he cracked his eyes open and found himself lying on a bed in a dark room. It was neat but sparsely furnished, though a vase of flowers sat on a table in one corner and there was a small mirror hanging on the wall.

Blinking eyes that felt gritty, he moved his head and saw that a bottle of water had been placed invitingly on the bedside table. The seal had already been broken, as if whoever had left it for him had known that he would be too weak to open it himself. Even so, he was wary of drinking the water. He knew only too well what sort of things it could have been spiked with. _'How did you know my name, 'Sis'?'_ he thought suspiciously at the mysterious beauty.

He swallowed again. His throat felt clogged, but he could live with that. The alternatives could be so much worse...though most of those scenarios involved him being naked and strapped to a brightly-lit operating table, rather than resting in someone's guest bedroom.

The door creaked open, and Kenji silently cursed himself. He should have gotten up while he had the chance, tested the door to see if it was locked, find out if the window would open and how far it was from the ground, looked for hiding places. Too late now. The best thing to do was feign sleep.

He did so, his sense of hearing fully focused on the soft footsteps approaching his bed. They came near and stopped, and he trembled as he sensed whoever it was watching him closely. He wondered if he dared slit his eyes open to look.

Before he could decide, a tiny, anxious whisper came out of the darkness. "Niisan?"

Kenji gasped and opened his eyes, completely not expecting that this visitor was one of the children. Similarly startled, Suzume gasped and backed away. "N-Niisan? You're awake?"

He bit back the automatic response, _'Well of course I am, don't you have eyes?'_ "Yeah." Wincing, he dragged himself upright, doing his best not to move his bandaged shoulder. "How's...um, how's your sister?" he asked uncomfortably, unable to shake the idea that it was somehow his fault she had gotten hurt, that he had failed them.

"Her leg hurts," the girl said dolefully, "but she says she's okay." Her eyes glimmered strangely in the light from a street lamp outside. Kenji was horrified to realize that she was about to cry. "Niisan...are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly, and reached to give her an awkward pat on the head. "Someone patched me up, so I'm good now."

To his consternation, she suddenly flung her arms around him and burst into tears. "Tomoe-nee says you really _are_ our big brother, for real," she sobbed, or at least that's what it sounded like; her words were difficult to make out. "Niisan, there was so much blood, and then you wouldn't wake up...."

"I'm okay. Really," he tried to assure her, his face burning. "Don't cry, okay?" _''Cause it's freaking me out.'_

She sniffed and nodded, pulling away a little to look intently at what she could see of his face. He managed to smile, then gingerly swung himself off the bed and stepped uncertainly toward the half-open doorway. There was light outside, and he could hear the lady's soft voice murmuring to someone.

"Tomoe-nee made cookies," Suzume said with a wobbly little smile. "Do you want some too, Niisan?"

"Sure," he muttered. "Um...hey...could you maybe not call me that?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

"'Niisan,'" he repeated uncomfortably. "I don't really like it. Just call me Kenji, okay?"

"Okay, Ken-nii," she agreed uncertainly.

He rolled his eyes, but decided not to press the issue. He approached the door cautiously, peeking around it to see what was outside. There was a warmly-lit kitchen, where the Tomoe lady was pacing slowly, talking into a cordless phone. Further on was a living room, where he could see the back of Suzume's sister's head as she lay and watched TV.

"...Kenshin-san, please calm down. I have treated the injury, and it should heal well; it might not even leave a scar. She is watching television now, and you have just spoken to her, so you know she is fine. Suzume-chan is perfectly all right, just a little shaken. It is nothing she will not recover from once she is back home."

Tomoe paused, then said, "Kenshin-san...you are bringing Kaoru-san with you, right? ... I know, I was simply making sure. Kenshin-san, both of you need to be prepared." She turned her eyes to Kenji and watched him as she continued speaking. "There is something else important that you need to know, but I do not wish to tell you over the phone. Please understand that your two daughters are not the only ones you should be thinking about. I will see you soon."

Still gazing at Kenji, she lowered the phone and ended the call without waiting for a response from the person on the other end. It startled Kenji when she addressed him directly. "How do you feel, Kenji-san?"

"Fine," he said guardedly. "Who are you?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Suzume glance up at him in puzzlement at the note of hostility in his voice.

"I am Kiyosato Tomoe," she told him calmly. She picked up a plate of cookies and held it out to him. "Would you like one?"

Kenji opened his mouth to vehemently decline, despite his aching stomach, but then he remembered that Suzume was watching him anxiously. Finally he swallowed. "How do you know me?"

Still looking at him, Tomoe took a cookie for herself and set the plate back down, taking a small bite as she studied him thoughtfully. "I suppose we never did meet properly, did we. I did not learn who you were and what you had suffered until it was too late to help you." She nodded a little when she saw his eyes narrow. "You are fourteen years old now. Tell me, Kenji-san - how much do you remember from before you came into the care of Takani Megumi-san?"

Kenji felt his teeth grinding together. "You...you leave Megumi alone, you hear me?"

"Takani-san is as safe as she can be under the circumstances," Tomoe assured him, though he was not convinced. "Whatever danger might come to her, I assume she is more prepared for it than you are. It depends on how much you know of the Dragon Project."

Kenji closed his eyes, repressing a shudder. For so long he had pretended that that name meant nothing to him, that everything from before his rescue had become a blank in his mind. He had not told even Megumi the truth about the nightmares that he knew were really memories.

_"Takani Kenji, do you honestly expect me to believe that you woke up screaming because you thought I had forced you to go to school in a pink dress?"_

_"Pink is _evil_, Megumi! So are dresses! All of them should be burned - though with the girls taken out of them first. Hey, I had a dream about that, too; you wanna hear?"_

_"Nice try, Kenji."_

He asked tightly, "Why are they after me? I...I know they had me before...but I can't - remember what I did...."

Startled, he moved back nervously when Tomoe approached him, but her hands were gentle when they cupped his face. "Kenji-san," she said softly, though her eyes were hard. "Do not ever believe that you deserved what was done to you."

He could feel himself trembling, so he pulled away and looked around for a distraction. Suzume had wandered over to her sister, and the two of them were watching him and Tomoe with sad, anxious eyes. He tried to smile. "Hey, guys. What's on?"

The older girl glanced disinterestedly at the TV, then fixed her gaze back on him. "Powerpuff Girls," she answered. "Niisan...don't you want a cookie?"

"It's 'Ken-nii,'" Suzume corrected her. "Don't call him 'Niisan' anymore, Neechan. He doesn't like it."

Self-consciously, Kenji picked a cookie off the plate but avoided eating it as he went over to the girls. "Hey, I never found out your name," he said awkwardly. "It's Suzume and...?"

"Ayame," she answered in a low voice.

He knelt down next to her, frowning. "Hey, Ayame...-chan, what's wrong?" Her injured leg was stretched out, neatly bandaged like his shoulder, but the look on her face made him think that that was not the real problem.

"Niisan-- I mean Ken-nii," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "Really, I am. Look, I can kind of move my arm now." It was painful to raise it, but he did so anyway, pretending that his hand was a creature greedily eating the cookie he was afraid to put in his own mouth. To his relief, the girls laughed and eagerly asked him for more tricks, a request with which he awkwardly attempted to comply.

From time to time he glanced over at Tomoe, who had sat down in the apartment's little dining room and was watching them. She made him uneasy, but at the same time her presence was oddly comforting. She had talked almost as if she was one of the enemy...but she had also rescued them and given them shelter (and cookies), and then for her to say something like that to him - it made him confused. He supposed he should be glad that so far she had shown no sign of tranquilizing him and shoving him in a cage to be shipped off to another hidden lab, but even so, he intended to escape as soon as he saw the opportunity. He had not yet decided if he would try to take the girls with him. If he was in danger, then so were they, with their little dragon wings - but they acted like they knew her and trusted her. Should he trust her, too?

It would help if he knew where he was, so he asked her as soon as the girls had fallen asleep. He figured that she would not lie about that unless she was an enemy, and if she was, he was screwed anyway, so it probably didn't matter.

"Good," he sighed in relief. He was not too terribly far from home, an hour on the subway should do it.

"Kenji-san," she said seriously. "I need to talk to you."

He eyed her warily. "About what?"

"About your parents," was the quiet reply.

Kenji froze.

No one outside the Dragon Project knew who his parents were. _No one._ Even Megumi did not know, and she had been the most involved of his rescuers. "What about my parents," he said harshly. He was reeling inside, not knowing what to think or how to react. Had they abandoned him? Had they given him up to the enemy? Were they dead? Were they looking for him? Did they even care he existed? Had they ever--?

"Your family's name," Tomoe said quietly, "is Himura."

Kenji sucked in a breath as the almost-familiar name stirred something in the depths of his mind...but it was too far away to grasp, and he had neither the time nor the state of mind to explore this further.

"Your parents lost you a very long time ago, before you were...born. You were hidden, first by chance and then by your parents' enemies. By the time I discovered your identity, I no longer had access to you, and your rescuers knew nothing of the family that has been searching for you. Takani-san is a good woman, and we are grateful that she has cared so well for you...but she knows little of the truth. In fact, at this moment, I alone know the whole story. Your parents are coming here for their daughters, but they do not yet know they will find a son as well. Kenji-san, I need you to be prepared."

Kenji found himself shaking. He laced his fingers together and clamped them over his knees, trying to force his body to be still. "Why didn't you tell them?" he finally managed to growl. "They'll come and they'll see me and they'll think I'm - they'll think I'm a _freak_. And you know what, they'll be right, because I _am_ a freak!"

Tomoe looked at him quietly for a minute. "Kenji-san...is it possible that you think you are what you are because of what was done to you?"

"Of course!" he shouted at her. "No one gets freakin' _born_ as a dragon!" So many times he had seen perfectly normal human beings emerging as monsters....

"On the contrary, Kenji-san," she said softly. "You were the first true dragon-child." She nodded at the bedroom where the girls were sleeping. "Your brothers and sisters were the next." Then she smiled sadly. "If anyone here is what you say, then it is myself." She rose slowly and moved to the center of the living room, turning her back to him. To Kenji's shock, she slipped off her blouse, but before he could have a crisis over that, something happened that made his jaw drop. The flesh of her back rippled, and then, carefully, harmoniously, as if designed to do so, delicate bony frameworks rose up like sprites from her shoulder blades, extending and thickening even as he watched in amazement, until Kiyosato Tomoe stood with two wings that could not fully unfurl in the suddenly cramped little room.

There was not even a trace of blood.

For a long moment they stood, Tomoe patiently, Kenji with his mouth open and his eyes huge, feeling like he was about to throw up. Then she gave a long sigh and curled her wings in again. They paled and thinned and descended gracefully back into her flesh, so that when she put her blouse back on, not a trace of them was detectable to the eye.

Then she turned to face him.

Kenji shot to his feet, breathing hard, searching wildly for an escape. He could not deal with this, his head was pounding like it was going to explode, his back ached as if bracing itself for familiar pain....

"My other form, unlike yours, is unnatural," Tomoe said quietly. "It resulted from an encounter with your father, though the fault lay not with him, but with myself and my husband. The restoration of my sanity is thanks to you...but everything I have gained, I would give away a thousand times over if it meant I could have spared you such pain."

"What are you talking about?" he sobbed dryly. "I thought...I thought...."

They both jumped when the doorbell rang. Tomoe looked over and frowned, speaking quietly as if to herself. "So quickly, even if they flew...." Then she went to open the door.

Kenji's back was prickling, and such a strong sense of terror was shooting through him that for a minute he could not move or speak. It was...a smell, almost...a horrifying, dangerous smell that hit his nose like acid. "Don't open the door!" he shouted.

It was too late. Tomoe's greeting died on her lips when she saw the man who was carefully wiping his feet on the doormat. Lithe and handsome, he looked up and smiled at her, reaching almost shyly to touch her face. "Hello, Sis," he said pleasantly. "What's the matter? You look almost - horrified."

"Enishi," she whispered. "How...?"

With a swift, graceful movement, he propelled her backward so that he could step inside and shut the door. Then he wrapped her in his arms and laid his face tenderly against her hair. She stood stiffly, unresponsive.

"How did I get out of prison, you mean?" he murmured lovingly. "Oh Neesan, you know it wasn't meant to be forever." He pulled back a little and smiled at her. "After all, a couple of my little pets were never caught. Disgusting as they are, I suppose dragons have their uses." His eyes slid at last to Kenji, who had backed up against the wall with a kitchen knife clutched in his fist.

"Enishi," Tomoe begged, "please. I will give you money, I will hide you or help you leave the country, but please don't--"

"Don't what?" he said softly, his burning eyes fixed on the boy. "Don't reclaim what's mine?"

"Himura Kenji is not yours," Tomoe told him strongly. "Please, Enishi. Do not do this. Not when his parents are so close--"

"To finding him?" Enishi smirked, and Kenji felt his throat vibrating with a growl in response. "But Sis, that's the _perfect_ time to take him back, to snatch him right out from under their scaly noses. It all worked out so beautifully - Battousai gets a phone call, dashes off to rescue his precious spawn, he arrives breathlessly at the apartment of a trusted friend...only to find that the little hatchlings are gone. _All_ of them."

"You planned it this way," Tomoe whispered.

He laughed. "You give me too much credit, Sis...though I do admit that I had your phone line bugged. It was very amusing to hear Battousai raging helplessly at the news that his little girl nearly got sliced in half by Usui. Not to mention my delight at such sheer good luck, the Himura brats falling right into my hands."

Tomoe's face seemed drained of all color. "Enishi..._please_. Not this. Go after Kenshin-san himself if you must, but not his children, Enishi, I beg you."

"Oh, if it's retaliation from him you're worried about, please don't," he assured her. "That's the reason I came. You're coming with us, of course - just like old times."

"Never," she said flatly. "I will die before I return with you."

"I won't let you die," he said coldly, the mockingly sweet act finally dropped. "That would make all my efforts a waste. Everything I've worked so hard for, for so long, it's all been for you. I still love you, Neesan. You don't believe me, but it's true. Even though I've lost you, even if you don't love _me_ anymore, I'll always love you. So I'll be really sad if you don't do what I want...and you'll be really sad, too."

Her hands clenched into fists.

"Where's Akira, anyway?" he suddenly wondered. "Late home from work, is he?"

"What did you do to him?" Tomoe whispered.

He grinned again. "Oh, don't worry, he's fine. So far, anyway." He reached out to caress her face. "You know I would never, ever hurt _you_, Neesan," he said lovingly.

Tomoe closed her eyes in defeat.

Kenji had almost made it to the bedroom door when Enishi's eyes suddenly pinned him again - though Kenji somehow knew that the man's attention had been fixed on him the entire time. Instinctively, Kenji snarled and raised the knife.

"Oh, how cute," Enishi chuckled. "You think you can hold me off with that thing long enough for...what? For you all to jump out the window to safety or something?"

"Get out," Kenji growled, the harsh deadliness of his own voice startling him.

"Look, Sis," Enishi laughed. "He thinks he's Battousai, trying to 'death glare' me into submission. Won't work, kid." He came at Kenji in a rush. Somehow the boy sensed it, and brought the knife up at exactly the right time, in exactly the right place. Unfortunately, the soft, vulnerable target was protected. Enishi's glasses clattered to the ground in pieces, and Kenji found himself pinned to the door by a man whose mere presence threatened to choke him with terror.

"Hm," Enishi said musingly, eyes traveling over Kenji's face. "Not bad...for a hatchling. 'Cause that's all you are, isn't it, you pathetic little monster."

Kenji nearly bit his tongue trying to hold back a scream, from having to face this figure from his nightmares, this creature whose expression longed to burn him until he was nothing but ash. From knowing that he had only been spared so that he could suffer all the more, under these pitiless eyes that he had desperately wished to never see again.

"Enishi, let him go!"

Keeping an arm over the struggling Kenji, Enishi turned his eyes on his sister and reached out his other hand to hold her away. "Sorry, Sis. As you can see, he's not being too cooperative." Seizing Kenji by the bandaged shoulder, he forced him to his knees and held him there, immobilizing him with the pain of his own wound. Then he drew out a knife. Tomoe cried out, and Enishi fixed her with a cold stare. "If you don't want to watch, go over to the other side of the room, Neesan. This'll be quick."

"Do not hurt him," she told Enishi fiercely. "Do not--"

Enishi held the knife against Kenji's hand, even when Kenji frantically clenched it into a protective fist. "You know what, Sis, I think I'll let you pick what kind of memento to leave for Battousai and his mate. Should it just be a lock of their son's hair, or one of his claws?"

Tomoe retreated wordlessly, though her eyes on them were still intent. Enishi smiled and pressed the edge of the blade against the base of Kenji's forefinger, so that a line of blood appeared.

"Enishi!"

"Just kidding." He put the knife down for a minute so that he could pull free the tie that bound Kenji's hair. Kenji shuddered as he felt it drifting down around his shoulders and sliding halfway over his face. "How sweet," Enishi murmured in his ear. "Even your hairstyle is just like daddy's. He'll be so proud."

"Shut up," Kenji hissed through gritted teeth, and started on a list of every foul name he could think of until he suddenly felt the blade in his hair. He froze. There was a sharp tug, and a clump of red strands dropped down into a coil on the floor.

Enishi, still gripping his injured shoulder, pulled him back up and steered him toward the front door. "Enishi," Tomoe tried one more time, but he ignored her. Thrusting the door open, he stepped out on the balcony with his captive and looked at the ground three stories below, where his men were waiting.

Two shrill, terrified voices rose into the night. When he recognized them, Kenji tried unsuccessfully to wrench away. "Let them go!" he snarled, outraged. "Let them go or I'll kill you!"

"Did you hear that?" Enishi called down gleefully. "The hatchling gave me a death threat."

There was a rumble of vicious laughter from below. Someone called up, "The other two brats tried to escape out the window. You still want 'em?"

"Of course," Enishi said evenly. "Now we'll have the whole set. Here, catch." He hoisted Kenji up and shoved him against the railing. "Fly, little dragon," he whispered, grinning. Then he pushed him over the edge.

Kenji cried out as he fell, his back exploding with pain as blood rained down through the darkness.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Sawagejô is Chou's surname.

"Neesan" and "Niisan" respectively mean "older sister" and "older brother," though they're not always used literally.

I have mixed feelings about this fic. It's too dark for my taste; I haven't written anything like it since I was an idiot in high school. Some parts of it are not very impressive, yet there are other parts that I like a lot. If you can get past chapter 2, you'll probably be okay.

This was conceived as a sequel to _Sapphire Scales: A Dragon Love Story_, which was a cute, funny romance featuring only Kenshin and Kaoru. I don't know _why_ my ideas for a sequel turned out the way they did. I wrote it as a stand-alone because I don't want the two to be associated, even though they're technically in the same universe.


	2. Captivity

_**The Lost Hatchling**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl  
Chapter 2 - Captivity**

A/N: This chapter sucks, both in content and writing quality.

--

It was incredibly frustrating, having to abandon their dragon forms outside the city and rely on wheels instead of wings to get them to where they so desperately needed to go. Perhaps if one of them could have driven, it might have been a little easier - but having to ride on subways, _sitting still_ while their children waited for them, needed them....

"What do you think she meant?" Kaoru asked softly, leaning her head on his shoulder as they watched the night rushing by outside the windows.

"About something...other than the girls?"

"Mm."

He sighed and absently touched his sword, nestled out of sight in the carrying case beside him. "I don't know."

He did not know the specifics. Yet he had a cold feeling that Tomoe had not told him over the phone because it was information she could not afford to have overheard. For years, all of them had pretended that their every move was watched, their every word listened to. You never knew. Just because Yukishiro Enishi was behind bars did not mean that he had lost all his power. For years, the night skies had seemed to grow dim under the shadow of dark wings - even the humans were beginning to notice, and become uneasy.

The two of them ran swiftly and silently when they emerged onto the streets, paying no attention to the humans who looked up in astonishment at the blurred figures rushing past. The pavement echoed grudgingly under their feet; each mile was an obstacle between them and their daughters. They pressed on in grim determination.

Kaoru had already set foot on the first step up to the Kiyosatos' apartment when her husband laid a restraining hand on her arm. She looked back at him in surprise and anger. "Kenshin--"

"The door is open," he said quietly.

"So?!"

"Let me go up first."

She gave way a little sullenly, her eyes following him as he pulled out his sword, slid it into the belt of his faded jeans, and slowly ascended. Testingly, Kaoru sniffed the air, but could detect nothing out of the ordinary. Of course that didn't mean much...only true dragon-children like Ayame and Suzume could use their heightened senses in both forms. _'Kenshin,'_ she thought. _'Be careful.'_

After what felt like an excruciatingly long wait, his voice drifted down to her. It sounded wrong. "Kaoru-dono. There is no one here."

Her heart pounding, Kaoru raced up the steps to join her husband in the empty apartment. Every light was on, but it was deathly quiet. A few objects here and there seemed to have been knocked out of place; clusters of moths were fluttering frantically around the light bulbs.

"T...Tomoe-san?" Kaoru called, wincing when her voice cracked. "Akira-san?" There was no answer, of course. Kenshin slowly moved into the kitchen, kneeling to touch something on the floor. "What is it?" Kaoru said in alarm. She went over to see that he had picked up a clump of auburn hair, and was clutching it in his fist so hard that his knuckles were white. "Kenshin--!"

"It's not mine," he whispered, his voice shaking with anger. "But the color is close."

A thought occurred to Kaoru, but she banished it immediately, pushed it far into the back of her mind and locked it away. It couldn't be. Surely there were other reasons why Tomoe and Akira might have a lock of dark red hair in their apartment...why Tomoe had refused to tell them anything until they were face to face-- "Kenshin," she croaked, her voice a sob.

His eyes were pulsing gold when he rose to his feet, and she covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. He would not be this angry unless....

"There has to be a message," he said in a voice of deadly calm. His hot eyes roved over the apartment until they settled on a DVD jewel case that had been left on the coffee table.

When the face, horribly familiar, flickered into view on the television screen, Kaoru choked back a gasp of rage and terror. Kenshin was silent. She didn't dare look at him.

_"Well, hello there! If you're watching this, Battousai, then you've probably figured out by now what happened to your spawn...."_

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji's mouth felt beyond gross...like he had been chewing gravel. His bleary eyes cracked open hopefully, but there was no water, even though this time he would have knowingly drunk a whole drugged bottle and been thankful. He squeezed his eyes shut again. "Please," he croaked. "Water." He did not want to see where he was, did not want to know if he could not move because he was just so tired, or because he was tied down.

A horribly familiar chuckle sounded above his head, and he shuddered before he could stop himself. _'It's not real,'_ he thought hopelessly. _'Please, please let it be just another nightmare....'_

A nozzle was thrust between his lips, unleashing liquid into his parched throat. It was not water. It burned his mouth raw and left a rancid taste on his tongue that made him gag; he tried to spit it out, but there was suddenly pressure on his face and he couldn't breathe. Struggling wildly, he found that he _was_ bound, and realized that he had to swallow or choke.

He could not stop coughing for a while, barely able to hold back tears of humiliation. Still he refused to open his eyes. He did not want to see what was coming for him, or who the people were, laughing so cruelly on all sides.

Suddenly he became aware of a sound that made him almost wish that he had not swallowed, that he had allowed himself to suffocate to death. This was no mere nightmare. None of his nightmares had included children's voices crying softly in the background. Kenji's hands clenched into fists as he listened. _'If you hurt them, I will kill you,'_ he thought, even as he felt his own powerlessness more keenly than ever.

"There's something I've been itching to try out," the hateful voice said above him. "Now don't look at me like that, Sis, it's just a minor cosmetic alteration this time." There was a pause, perhaps for a wordless demonstration. "What do you think? ... No opinion? Well, if you don't care, then you won't mind doing it with your own hands, right? Yeah, and you too, Akira! You can do it _together_, just like the wonderful little couple you are."

Tomoe's voice was quiet. "No."

"You're a sick man," an unfamiliar male voice added.

There was a long silence, and Kenji had to fight to keep his eyes closed. Somehow he succeeded, even when he heard Tomoe's gasp and then a horrible soft click. "I don't need both of the females alive, you know," Enishi said, very quietly. "In fact, I've been thinking of doing another dissection soon."

Kenji's eyes flew open, and he was immediately assaulted by the sight of his most feared and loathed enemy pointing a gun at his small sisters. "Don't you touch them!" he raged. "I'll kill you! I'll _kill you!"_

Enishi smiled, then lowered the weapon. Kenji's fists were clenched so hard that the nails bit painfully into his palms, but he was helpless to do more than glare.

The man picked up a red marker and reached for him; Kenji flinched and turned his face away, hating himself. "Other side, kid," Enishi said sweetly, wrenching the boy's head around hard enough to bruise. He drew two marks on Kenji's bared left cheek; Kenji tried to bite him, but the fingers deftly avoided injury. "Right there. Perfect." He turned and looked at someone beyond Kenji's line of vision. "You two - take the knives, and come here." There was a silence, and then he raised his gun in the direction of Ayame and Suzume again. "Now."

"Do it!" Kenji shouted. "Whatever he wants, do it!" He could not stand the thought of seeing one of those children bleeding and lifeless, of the other tormented like he had been, cut to pieces and doomed to nightmares. "Please," he begged, ashamed of the tears sliding down his cheeks. "Don't let him...."

It hurt, but he had endured much worse before. He kept his eyes closed so that he would not have to watch their faces as their trembling hands cut him.

o.o.o.o.o

The two of them sat huddled together, an immovable island of pain in the midst of the purposeful activity around them. Their faces were intimidatingly blank, their hands tightly clasped.

Saitô Hajime was irritably throwing around orders, machines and computers beeped and whirred, phones kept ringing. Enishi's old headquarters had been long destroyed, the surviving pieces scattered among his enemies for filing or study, but his newly-freed followers had lost no time in taking over a research facility. Now there was a whole complex full of captured scientists and staff to worry about in addition to the children.

Not that Kenshin and Kaoru were the worried ones. Saitô, whatever his other failings, seemed perfectly capable of handling the situation - and the other prisoners were not being held out of personal grudge.

"Excuse me...Himura-san?"

At last they stirred. Kenshin slowly turned dead amber eyes to the speaker; Kaoru raised her head from his shoulder and stared, her eyes red-rimmed. The woman standing before them was stunningly beautiful despite her expression, which was just as haggard as the Himuras'. "I am Takani Megumi," she said in a low voice. "I'm so glad to finally meet you...I wish it could have been under better circumstances."

"Takani-san," Kaoru said awkwardly as they rose to greet her. "We...we've been wanting to thank you, for taking care of him all this time."

Megumi looked down at her tightly folded hands. "It was only meant to be temporary, while we investigated the case and made a search for his relatives," she whispered. "But by the time it was determined that there was no one to claim him, he had become...very important to me." She looked at them earnestly. "Kenji is such a wonderful person, Himura-san. You will both be as proud of him as I am."

"Megumi-san," Kenshin said quietly. "I see no reason for there to be such formality between us."

Megumi's smile was sad. "I agree, Kenshin-san."

The waiting communication screen flickered to life exactly on schedule. Enishi's coldly handsome face appeared, grinning into a camera that he appeared to be holding himself. _"Hello, Battousai."_

"Give them back, _now_," Kenshin snarled, "or I will make you regret, by the time I have finished with you, that there is a vow to prevent your miserable life from ending."

_"Oh, good,"_ Enishi said cheerfully. _"Looks like the communication setup works like a charm."_ He indicated the audio receiver tucked into his ear._ "This is all live, and you'll be able to hear everything from my end - but don't try talking to your little darlings directly, 'cause I'm the only one who'll hear you."_

The camera he held must have been small enough to clip to the front of his clothing, because the visuals suddenly shifted wildly before settling into the rhythm of Enishi's gait as he strolled along a corridor. There were no clues on the stark white walls; anything that might have indicated his location in the building had been removed. _"Now, our first exhibit: the younger female, had a rough night but starting to recover."_ There was a pause as he tapped out a security code off screen, and then the door slid open to reveal a stark room with a small figure curled up on the floor.

"Enishi! What did you do to her?!"

o.o.o.o.o

Suzume was shivering convulsively, her skin as white as paper, a purplish tinge to her lips and around her glazed eyes. Her hair was lank with sweat; a dried crust had formed around her mouth. Her teeth chattered when Enishi approached, and her inaudible mumblings suddenly swelled with shrill panic. "I w-want my m-mommy, I want m-my daddy, I-I want...."

_"Suzume!"_ they screamed. _"Suzume!"_

Ignoring them, he settled down on the floor next to her and affectionately stroked her hair back from her face, seeming not to notice when she cringed away. "Poor little thing. You feeling better, kid?"

"G-Go aw-way," she sobbed. "Neechan...Neechan...."

"Sorry hon, but she's got her own problems to worry about," he said, smiling. "Would you like some water?"

"M-My stomach h-hurts," she whimpered.

"I know it does," he said soothingly, uncapping a bottle of water and holding it to her chapped lips. "But look at it this way - thanks to you, we now know about how much kaerathol my pets can handle before it starts poisoning them."

o.o.o.o.o

"...Kaoru...will you stop me?"

"...Yes. Because I will kill him myself."

o.o.o.o.o

Enishi, nose wrinkled in disgust, carefully wiped his fingers with disinfectant before moving into the next room. Ayame, on her knees, was crying as she pried at the window with bloodied fingertips.

"Won't work," he told her cheerfully as he walked in. "It's bullet-proof, fire-proof, and definitely baby-dragon-proof. Though try all you want, it's amusing to watch."

She had whirled to face him and was fighting to get to her feet, but both legs were injured now and they buckled under her weight. "Where is my sister?" she screamed at him. "Give me back my sister! Don't you dare hurt my sister, you horrible, horrible man!"

He scooped her up, and she shrieked and struggled in his arms until he dumped her back in the middle of the room. "Better stay put this time, or I'll chain you. Wouldn't want those legs to heal wrong, would we?"

"I hate you!" she shouted at him.

He crouched down casually as if to see her better, and his hand fell to her leg to grip hard where it was bandaged. She screamed, trying to push him away. "All the more reason to convince Mommy and Daddy to get you out of here right away, hm?"

He let go and left her crying brokenly as he had done her sister. "Feisty one," he commented to his helpless, unseen audience as he cleaned his hands again. "I've been thinking of using her for some psychological testing...though of course, whether I'll get to it or not will be up to you." He clicked his tongue at the foul language streaming into his ear from the receiver. "Such a filthy tongue for a woman. You ought to do a better job keeping her in line, Battousai."

He paused at the third door. "I know you've been looking for this for a long time," he said quietly. "You can't imagine how happy I was when my prize specimen ended up back in my hands...the genesis of his filthy race, the failed savior of my poor sister." He grinned viciously. "Your spawn has repaid the debt for your sin, Battousai - _some_ of it, anyway. Not until you and everything you've touched are in pieces, not 'til I see your broken corpse will my revenge be complete...but, heh. It's a start."

The room was poorly lit, completely empty except for the auburn-haired figure huddled in one corner, wrists and ankles locked into handcuffs. Enishi heard their agonized, sobbing breaths through the receiver, and he smiled. "Got to be careful with this one, he's more dangerous than the others." He went to crouch down near the boy, who seemed to shrink even further into himself. "Kenji," he said gently. "That's what you like to call yourself, isn't it?"

"N...no more," the ragged voice whispered. "P...Please...."

"Look up, Kenji. Look into the camera, let your mom and dad see your big pretty eyes."

Slowly, a haunted face emerged, bandaged on one side beneath glistening eyes. "Wh...What?"

Enishi smiled. "That's right - they're watching us now. They came for the little females and found out that I have you, too. Aren't you excited?"

The already strained breathing grew harsher. "A...Ayame...Suzume--"

"They're just fine," came the smooth answer. "As long as you keep doing everything you're told like a good boy, I promise I won't hurt them." The face dropped in defeat, and Enishi frowned. "Now wait a minute, we haven't checked how well you're healing yet."

Kenji cried out as the bandage was ripped off. He moved instinctively to protect his face, but his hands were pulled away so that the cross-shaped cuts bled in full sight. "Hm, doesn't look too bad," Enishi said critically, ignoring the cries in the receiver. "Pity. Looks like I'll have to go over them again."

Releasing the boy, who was shuddering with hatred, he unclipped the camera so that he could grin at his invisible audience. "Now look, I have a deal for you, Battousai. I'll _give_ you one of your spawn back, absolutely free. Any of the three you want. No strings attached, this is just to prove you can trust me." He raised a finger coyly. "But only _one_ of the brats, mind you. Don't get greedy. Now, take your pick, whichever one you like."

When the shouting died down again, Battousai's voice rose, clear and full of rage. _"All of them, Enishi. You will restore all of our children to us immediately, and then you will prepare to face me."_

"_All_ of them?" Enishi gasped in mock-astonishment. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Battousai. For all the progress I've made, I haven't found a real solution yet, and I still need at least one of the original specimens for my work. As I said, though, I'd be happy to oblige you on _one_ of the three. Face it, Battousai, you're going to have to do things my way - you can't break through in time to stop me. Going into beast mode to smash the whole place would only put your spawn at risk, and as for trying to burn me--"

Kenji pushed at him, weakly but determinedly. "Get...away from me."

Enishi stared at him for a minute. Then his face twisted into a mask of rage; he seized the boy's head and struck it hard against the floor. Then again, and again, until he finally became aware of the mother's screams. _"Suzume! Suzume! Give her back to me, give me back my baby, I'm choosing, I'm choosing, don't hurt my babies!"_

Slowly, and it was very difficult, Enishi released his hold on the boy, who lay as if dead. Then, gathering himself, he climbed heavily to his feet and left the room.

o.o.o.o.o

Kaoru lay curled up in the darkness, crying and crying even though her eyes ached from having cried for so long, from the moment she had seen Suzume again. The soft starlight, the gentle swishing of the leaves over her head, the soothing drone of night insects, all seemed to make a mockery of her grief and rage. She clutched her arms around herself because she could not hold her youngest child, who lay fighting the poison in her system in the hospital room above. Neither Kaoru nor her husband could be at their daughter's side in this state, both full of emotions too wild to control.

Kaoru blinked her wet eyes and listened to the crashing sounds coming from the parking lot, sounds that would be drawing unwanted attention very soon. He could smash Saitô's car to shrapnel; she could cry until she went blind; it was not going to bring their other children back.

When silence finally fell, Kaoru slowly got to her feet and shuffled through the rows of cars until she found him. He had dropped to hands and knees amidst the destruction, his fists clenched, his hair spilling wildly over his back. She went to kneel beside him, watching his shoulders heave with ragged breaths.

"I need...a real sword," he finally whispered. "Not that...useless..._thing_." She looked around until she thought she saw it on the pavement some distance off, a glimmer of moonlight on the sakabatô that he must have finally hurled away in his frustrated wrath.

Now she reached to touch him, and he suddenly surged up and seized her, crushing her in his arms. More tears leaked down her face as she held him, feeling the rigidity of his trembling body, his slow sobs tearing at her ears. In the century and a half she had known him, she could count on one hand the number of times she had seen him cry.

For a long time they held each other, weeping and grief-stricken. Finally Kaoru whispered to him, "Kenshin...I need to see her again."

He drew in a shuddering breath and slowly let her go, pressing his hands over his face. After a long moment he finally nodded. She tried to get up but he rose first, silently reaching down a hand. She took it and let him help her to her feet.

As they approached the hospital room again, Saitô Hajime stepped out and glanced over at them. There was a long pause. Then he fished for a cigarette and said nonchalantly as he put it to his lips, "If she's anything like her brother, she'll beat this."

"Thank you," Kaoru said, her voice wooden. This man had watched over her son in the past, just as he had come to check on Suzume now - when he should have been back with his men, keeping an eye on Yukishiro Enishi. Years ago, this man had also been the reason that Kenji had slipped from their grasp when they were so close to finding him.

"Saitô."

Saitô gave Kenshin an inquiring look, obviously impatient to leave the building so he could have a quick smoke before returning to work.

There was no apology in Kenshin's voice. "I had to find _something_. Yours was the only one."

Saitô went very still.

"Don't worry, I'll reimburse you."

For a long moment they held each other's eyes; one challenging, the other furious. Then, without a word, Saitô stalked past them and on down the corridor.

Megumi looked up when they entered the room. "She's still sleeping," she assured them in a tired voice. "You didn't miss anything."

"Thank you," Kaoru whispered. She touched Suzume's pale, clammy cheek, and did not look at Kenshin, for she could see that his fists were clenched.

"She is doing better," Megumi told them. "Most of the poison has been purged from her system, and with the kind of care she is getting here, I am sure she'll make a full recovery in time."

"Thank you," Kaoru said again.

She lifted her eyes and looked quietly at Kenshin until he finally repeated in a tight voice, "Thank you, Megumi-san."

Megumi nodded and rose silently to leave, allowing them to keep their vigil in peace.

o.o.o.o.o

"We had a shoot-out last night," Saitô told them. "We lost one of our men, three others were wounded; we hit a few of theirs, too. It'll be a tough defense to penetrate."

"I can get in," Kenshin said flatly.

"If it was just a matter of 'getting in,' I could do it in my sleep," Saitô said disgustedly. He had never said a word about the car. "What are you going to do when you _do_ get in - hack your way through an army, only to find that your enemy has had time to have the children moved? There are other factors here, Himura. Nearly a hundred hostages for one thing, plus the fact that my men aren't as _equipped_ as you are to deal with...shape-shifters."

His lip curled in clear disgust at the idea of warriors who could suddenly sprout fangs, claws, and wings at will...not to mention breathe fire. "_I'm_ in charge of the Yukishiro case this time," he muttered under his breath. "If he weasels his way out of another death sentence, I'll kill him myself." No one questioned whether or not a policeman should be saying something like that.

Kenshin had been turning the sakabatô over and over in his hands, staring at the blade, watching the sharp edge revolve in and out of the light. When Saitô had finished speaking, he looked up and said again, with no change in tone, "I am getting in. And then I am coming out again with my children."

Saitô looked at him with narrowed eyes. "If I lose a single one of my men or a single hostage to your stupidity, I'll have your head."

Kenshin bowed silently and turned away.

o.o.o.o.o

_"I have another deal for you, Battousai. You can have another one of the little brats back - in exchange for your mate."_

"What?" he snarled.

"Done."

"Kaoru!"

She turned to him with sapphire eyes that were fully a match for his blazing gold. _"Do you trust me?"_ she asked with her hands.

He paused, his eyes following the sign language that only the two of them understood. Then he raised his own hands and signed back, _"There's an army of them, the children could get hurt, _you_ could get hurt, your transformation is nothing like theirs--"_

She held her hands as if gripping a sword in front of her heart. _"Kenshin."_

Hands, fingers, and arms danced patterns in the air, more and more swiftly until the room seemed to pulse with their silent conversation. Both were glaring. More than once, they signed so furiously at each other simultaneously that one or the other would make a violent cutting gesture: _"Shut up and let me finish!"_

Finally there was a pause, as they went still and stared tensely at each other. Then Kenshin suddenly dropped his hands and closed his eyes. "Yes," he whispered.

Kaoru turned to the communication screen, where Enishi waited with a suspicious frown. "When you give us Ayame - I will come to you willingly."

_"You are not in a position to demand the first move of me."_

She held his eyes, her gaze hard. "Fine. Kenshin will be watching. If you go back on your word, he'll torch you."

_"You think you're so smart, that your darlings won't come to harm if you try to set me on fire. In case you've forgotten, my pets are fire-proof, too, and have orders to destroy the brats immediately if anything like that should happen to me."_

Kaoru grinned menacingly, even as she felt herself trembling at the thought of the danger her children were in. "I'm sure you'll enjoy gloating in hell."

_"As long as that monster next to you ends up there with me, I don't care."_

The flatness of his voice gave her chills, as she realized that he utterly believed what he said. The life of Yukishiro Enishi had crumbled away, until all that was left was a burning desire for the destruction of her family. She leaned gratefully into the weight of Kenshin's hand as he gripped her shoulder.

_"But honestly, why are we even talking about this? I kept my word last time, didn't I? Just hold up your end of the deal, and everything will be fine."_

o.o.o.o.o

Some discomfort, but no real pain. Mostly boredom. To Kaoru's fury, this is what she experienced at the hands of her enemies, after her children had suffered so horribly.

To distract herself from the intense desire to tug at the restraints, she tried craning to see what was on the computers. Strings of unintelligible text, graphs; more than one set, perhaps comparisons. Enishi had obviously been frustrated for some time, though everyone else in the room was utterly silent except when speech was unavoidable. Occasionally they would come over to do another scan or fluid draw or something, or make her do stupid stuff like repeat her husband's name over and over again as they tensely studied instrument readouts.

Enishi finally whirled and flung the newest results across the room, shouting profanity. "_Why_ isn't it working?! Same sex, similar physical age development, so why--" He suddenly turned back to Kaoru, his eyes burning. "It's because you're _different_, isn't it. That's why. You and your foul mate are in a class completely on your own. It was a mistake to bring you here. You're _useless_."

Kaoru glared back silently.

Enishi stalked in a circuit around the room, then suddenly halted and gestured sharply. "Bring her in. We might as well try."

Tomoe was led in, one arm respectfully but firmly gripped. Her eyes did not so much as flicker in Kaoru's direction as she sat down and folded her hands in her lap.

Enishi strode over and leaned in very close. "Hello, Sis."

"Hello, Enishi," she said in a low voice.

"Don't be upset. I'm not going to hurt you."

"...."

"Listen to me!" He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him; his own expression was intense, distressed. "I would never, ever hurt you. Don't you trust me? Just sit still and cooperate, and everything will be okay. I promise."

Her eyes were steady as she gazed into her brother's face. "Enishi, nothing will be all right if you continue in this madness. I have made peace with what I am. I am happy - or I would be, if you would let me. But you have already hurt me more than words can express."

For a long time he said nothing. Then he slowly let her go and backed away, his eyes still fixed on hers. His voice was flat as he said, "That's not my sister talking." He turned away, snapping at his men, "Hook it up."

Kaoru wanted to scream with impatience, it took so long for Tomoe to finally glance in her direction. Kaoru determinedly kept her eyes fixed on the other woman until finally, Tomoe looked at her for a moment, then away.

"No!" Everyone paused to look at her in surprise, except for Enishi, who worked on as if she had not spoken. _'Tomoe-san,'_ Kaoru thought, wishing so much that she could communicate mind-to-mind. However, something in the restraints was preventing her from transforming, and it would have been of no use anyway unless Tomoe shifted as well. _'This is not working out as well as I'd hoped....'_

At last Tomoe was looking at her, absently brushing aside the cords of the sensors that had been attached to her. Her lips were forming silent words: _"I'm sorry."_

Kaoru hesitated. The two guards were dragons, but they were in the hall, focused on keeping watch. Perhaps they would not notice. She took in a breath, then made a soft little chirp. It was the closest human approximation she could get to the dragon verbal signal for "nightfall."

Tomoe's eyes widened.

"Shut up, will you?"

Kaoru quickly looked over at Enishi, who was glaring at her in annoyance.

"You get too irritating and I'll gag you." He turned back to the computers, not really interested.

When everyone's backs were turned again, Kaoru gestured rudely at him with her fingers. Then she shook her head and looked back at Tomoe, who gave the slightest of nods before whispering a single word: _Akira_.

o.o.o.o.o

Kenshin started when the communication screen suddenly fizzed back to life. He stared. It was that dark cell again--

When he realized what was happening, he became riveted, hands clutching the screen's frame so hard that it began to crack, his eyes blazing helplessly with rage and horror.

o.o.o.o.o

Why was there a communication feed in her cell? Kaoru stared as Enishi's image on the screen glanced at her, expression oddly serious, saying nothing. Then he clipped the little camera onto his shirt again and entered the cell of her captive child.

o.o.o.o.o

"Hi there, _Kenji_. So you're finally awake, huh?"

The boy glared and edged away. Enishi strode forward and seized him to haul him up; Kenji fought back until his captor practically crammed some crumbling bit of food into his mouth. Kenji was hungry enough by now to choke it down immediately, knowing from experience that it was usually best to eat whatever he was given. At least _some_ of the time it was no more than token bits of nourishment to keep his soul connected to his body.

"Talked to your mom and dad earlier," Enishi said casually.

Kenji was silent.

"What? Not interested?" He held out another morsel, just out of reach.

"I'm interested," Kenji mumbled. "Whatever you want." The food came closer. He tried to seize it before it was shoved down his throat, but was not quite quick enough. He was choking too hard to hear the beginning of Enishi's next words.

"...but they didn't want you."

Kenji coughed, trying to work up enough saliva to make the last crumbs slide down his throat.

"Isn't that sad?"

"What?"

"I offered them the chance to save you, but in the end they didn't want you."

Kenji held very still, trying not to comprehend the words.

Enishi pulled out a fresh plum. Kenji stared at it, not believing his eyes at first, but then Enishi raised it to his teeth and tore away a small chunk. A heavenly scent wafted up; Kenji's mouth flooded with saliva and he actually felt tears filling his eyes.

"That's right. I made a bargain with them. I told them they could have their children back. They chose Suzume. They chose Ayame. But they didn't choose you."

Kenji was only half listening. He was staring very hard at the plum in Enishi's hand. Then, miraculously, it was brought invitingly close. This time Kenji was allowed to snatch it up and eat it at his own pace, which was not much slower but at least didn't cause choking. The cool, sweet flesh slid down his throat, but this time he could hardly swallow for the sobbing. It tasted so _good_. He had never, ever tasted anything this good in his _life_ before. That was why he was crying.

"I suppose it's my fault. You know, cutting you up and all. Damaging you. Really, I didn't want to, but it's so _hard_ keeping a specimen intact when it's the only genuine one I've got! You understand, don't you?"

Kenji could tell that Enishi was in the right mood for begging to have an effect, so he begged. "Please. Please, I'm so hungry...."

There was an angry pause, and Kenji went cold as he thought for a moment that he had miscalculated. Yet not quite, for he was given a tiny morsel of bread, which he instantly devoured.

"Are you even listening to me?" came the soft, dangerous question.

Give him what he wants. "My parents don't love me," he whimpered. "They abandoned me." He was rewarded with the rest of the loaf, which he ripped into like the starved animal he felt like.

"Ah." The note of smug realization sent shivers down Kenji's back. "I see. It's that woman - _Megumi_, isn't it."

He nearly lost control then. "Don't--!" Shut up, shutupshutupshutup.

"Yes." The voice was a purr now. "That's it. You never really believed that Mommy and Daddy loved you in the first place. But it's all right, 'cause there's always good old Megumi, the backup plan, waiting in the wings with open arms. Right?"

The fury was surging through him, he couldn't hold it back much longer. He had to stop it before it made him misstep in this sick game that he had hoped never to play again. "Megumi's...nothing. Government dog. Her job to study me, that's all." Detach, belittle. Make worthless what is precious; take away its power to harm. "At least she fed me."

Enishi sighed in mock-sympathy. "Very true. Sounds like she meant a lot to you. Too bad she's dead."

His knees buckled then. He was too shocked to even notice that Enishi caught him and lowered him gently until they were both sitting on the ground. "Poor little Kenji. I hate to break it to you, but it's true."

"You...killed her." The rage was surging up again. It suddenly occurred to him, not for the first time, that maybe he could just let it take him, that maybe he could attack this monster like he so longed to. Then Enishi would kill him, and this nightmare would end...right?

"Of _course_ I didn't!" The pretend-shock alone made Kenji want to punch him. "How could you _think_ such a thing of me?"

"HOW DID SHE DIE????" Kenji screamed. _'Cool it, don't let him get to you, he's lying, he's a liar...please let him be lying, oh please, Megumi I need you, I need you so bad...Saitô...please, help me....'_

Enishi was shaking his head. "Such a shame. Freak accident, nothing to do with us, incredibly enough. I admit I _did_ send a few beasts over to capture her, thought maybe she'd be useful since you were stupid enough to make her yet another of your weaknesses...but the whole place was already burned down when they got there."

_'Burned,'_ Kenji thought thickly. _'House, burned.'_ He would not think about Megumi, her beautiful face twisted into screams, charred black and unrecognizable. _'Burned...the _whole_ house? Had he been inside or outside?'_ "Kat--" Shut up.

"What was that? Oh! The dog, right?"

_'I'll kill you.'_

"Poor mutt. Yeah, it's sad when they get trapped in the house like that. We found 'em together. That's a consolation, you know? That the faithful hound died trying to save its master? Heh, master's fake mom, whatever." The false sweetness was beginning to crumble, the glee starting to leak through.

_'I'll kill you I'll kill you I'll kill you.'_ He had to be lying. He had to be.

"It was a wooden beam that killed them. Landed right on her effing head, crushed the little beast's paw.

_Crushed his paw--_

No one knew the truth about that except Megumi, and perhaps Saitô. No one would have known that Katana was lame unless they'd...seen him.

Kenji snapped. Screaming mindlessly in grief and rage, he turned on his tormentor with sudden fangs and claws, but of course he was still bound and had no chance. The blow that took him out was vicious.

"Overdid it," Enishi snapped in annoyance, absently wiping at the blood trickling down his face as he looked at the boy's still figure on the floor. "Oh well. Good game while it lasted, kid - seven years of fresh air did you good. Looking forward to the next." He kicked the prone body in salute and left.

o.o.o.o.o

Night had fallen again when Kenshin smelled her rush of adrenaline and knew that it was time. There was a query in her scent, and he sifted through the thousand smells again to confirm that Kenji was far enough away to be safe. He lifted his head and roared the "yes" signal, keeping an eye on the nervous enemy sentries. Bullets could not pierce through most of his scaled armor, but dragons were still not entirely invulnerable.

The sentries soon had something else to worry about when a whole chunk of the building exploded from failure to contain a creature suddenly several times too big for it. Kenshin winced, hoping that she was not too badly hurt, but she did not seem any slower than normal when she howled a dragon war-cry to the sky and then moved purposefully along the building, scenting for something. _"Are you all right?"_ he asked anyway.

_"I'm fine,"_ she answered impatiently. Her diamond-hard claws punched through walls which were not designed to withstand such a sharp, focused assault. Then she seemed to vanish, breaking their brief mind-to-mind contact.

_'Kaoru-dono,'_ he thought in frustration. Her human form was far more weak and vulnerable...though she was now a much more difficult target for, as an example, the guards who were now frantically shooting at him. The impact of the bullets on his scales stung a little, and he shifted his attention with a sigh. He had a job of his own to do, namely getting Saitô off his back about the hostages.

Meanwhile, Kaoru and the newly freed Akira were running through shuddering corridors, making their way to where Kaoru assumed Kenji was being held. Each set of panicked-looking guards they ran into was an infuriating holdup, and she envied Akira his easy ability to shift only partially, to enhance his fighting skills without the inconvenience of enlarging his size.

Kaoru felt a little better when she weapons in her hands, looted from downed enemies, but she was dismayed when Akira shot out the lock on a door and yanked it open to reveal - Tomoe, standing at the window of a pleasantly-furnished room. For a second the two women stared at each other, and then they opened their mouths at the same time.

"Where's Kenji?!"

"Where is Kenji-san?"

Akira hurried inside, spreading his arms. "Tomoe-san, you're safe," he said gladly, starting to embrace her.

She stepped away, her eyes narrowed. "Why did you come here first?"

"I'm getting you out of here," he said firmly. "Did you think I would save myself and leave you in danger?"

"Kenji-san needs us," she said, and moved swiftly out of the room.

o.o.o.o.o

The ground was shaking. Kenji shivered and squeezed his limbs as close against himself as he could. He was so cold...his stomach ached from hunger, and it was getting harder and harder to deny how afraid he was. He listened to the huge noises that had started up outside, mingling with distant shouts. The wall at his back was trembling, as if in an indecisive earthquake.

The door opened with a soft shushing sound, a shaft of light piercing through the gloom. Kenji moved his arms instinctively to cover his head. He cringed in shame to hear himself whimpering, and pressed his lips together hard to silence it.

The person who addressed him had a sweet, polite voice. "Hello, Himura Kenji-san."

"Who are you?" he whispered. He shuddered when he felt something drop over his shoulders - a robe. He clutched at it in relief, desperate for its warmth.

Someone was tugging at his feet. Kenji sucked in a breath and started to pull away - but then realized, to his shock, that the handcuffs were being unlocked; for the first time in what felt like ages, he was able to stretch his legs. It hurt, and he bit back a cry of pain. Raising his head, he dared to look at this angel of mercy for the first time, and saw a young face, with a sweet boyish smile and eyes that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Who are you?" he demanded again.

"My name is Seta Sôjirô," the boy said pleasantly. "Please give me your hands, Himura-san, and I will free them as well."

Shaking, Kenji extended his wrists and watched almost in disbelief as Sôjirô released them from the handcuffs. He fingered the chafe marks on his skin, flinching a little when his rescuer reached to tie up his hair and pull the robe's hood over his head. "We don't want anyone recognizing you," Sôjirô explained. "Now come along, we need to leave as quickly as we can. Things are getting interesting out there."

Gently, he took hold of Kenji's hands and pulled him to his feet. Kenji cried out as his legs buckled under him; Sôjirô quickly pulled Kenji's arm across his shoulders and slipped his own supporting arm around the boy's waist. "Lame, Takani," Kenji grumbled at himself under his breath.

"Can you walk if I help you, Himura-san?"

"Barely," he ground out, gingerly trying to force his legs to support his own weight.

"It's all right, Himura-san," the other boy said soothingly. "We can take it slowly. As long as we keep moving, we will be all right."

The light was blinding, after so long in the dark. He had to shut his eyes and trust Sôjirô to lead him for a while. They shuffled on through alarms and through clumps of running, shouting men, as the building continued to shake ominously with increasing frequency. Occasionally there was a tremendous crash, the sounds far away but growing closer. Then, just when Kenji was getting used to the light and was able to start cracking his eyes open, the power went out.

Plunged into sudden darkness again, Kenji let out an involuntary shriek, then turned his face away and stammered, "S-Sorry."

"It's all right, Himura-san," Sôjirô assured him, scanning the ceiling overhead with a little frown. "I have my own apologies to make, anyway. I need to set you down for a moment."

"What?" The word jerked desperately out of his mouth as Kenji tightened his hold. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"Just for a second," Sôjirô said soothingly. "Just sit down and rest for a moment, Himura-san. I'll be right back."

"Please," Kenji begged, but Sôjirô paid no attention, carefully sitting him down against a wall. "Now please stay there, Himura-san, so that I will be able to find you again easily."

"Don't go...."

Sôjirô was gone. Kenji shivered, and for a moment he sat there in the darkness with his arms around himself, as if he had never been freed. Then he drew in a deep breath and reached for the wall to guide him as he fought to get to his feet. He swayed there for a moment, but his legs held him this time. "I'm not a baby," he whispered to himself. "I _will_ do this."

A sudden burst of shouting down the hallway startled him, and he slapped his hand over his mouth to stifle a yelp. A fierce battle cry tore the air, there was a sound of metal striking flesh - then hurrying footsteps in the sudden silence.

Terror coursing through him, Kenji searched for something to defend himself with from the coming threat, and his fingers closed over a length of smooth metal, perhaps a broken pipe or someone's dropped weapon. Grasping it tightly, he turned back to the approaching enemy and choked down a cry - two points of golden light were glowing in the darkness, like the eyes of a tiger; there was the clink of a weapon held at the ready. "NO!!!" Kenji shouted, and charged at the terrifying figure.

A voice hissed out of the darkness, low and tight with fury. _"Get out of my way."_

Blinding pain exploded across Kenji's chest; he was slammed aside like a doll and felt his head crack sickeningly against the wall. He slid helplessly to the floor. The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was a single word, muttered in disgust as his attacker strode past.

"Pathetic."

o.o.o.o.o

Kaoru resisted the urge to round on the Kiyosatos and savage them when they found Kenji's cell empty. "Where is he?!" she screamed.

They both seemed to be at a loss. "He should have...been here," Akira fumbled. Tomoe closed her eyes and moved her head slightly. The olfactory interference from the damaged building made it more difficult, but her impression of Kenji had been strong. If he was anywhere nearby, she would be able to trace him.

"Look for his scent!" Kaoru shouted, unable to do so herself in human form and not realizing that Tomoe had already begun to search.

"I'll try," Akira said, "but this place is falling apart and it might be hard--" He glanced at his wife in surprise when she spoke.

"He is still in the building. He is with...that boy?" She frowned, and did not voice her anxiety. Instead she added, "Kenshin-san is near. He must have taken care of things outside and has now come for you and the child."

Kaoru raked a hand through her long bangs in frustration, now having two family members' safety to worry about.

Meeting up with Kenshin took longer than it should have, because they ran into two blocked off corridors and at least five groups of frightened, furious guards whom they had to fight. It did not help matters that Kaoru, with her human eyes, could barely see where they were going until the lights finally buzzed weakly to life again, flickering threateningly. Tomoe seemed to be uncharacteristically frustrated by the detours and delays, even when they rounded a corner and nearly collided with one of the people they were searching for. "Kenshin!"

"Kaoru-dono!"

"Did you find him?!"

"No, did you?!"

"We have to keep moving," Tomoe told them urgently. "I cannot find a straight path to them."

"Who's 'them'?" Kenshin asked sharply.

She hesitated for a moment. "Kenji-san, and the one who let him out."

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji woke up in pain, but he was too used to this for it to take up much of his attention. He was being carried on someone's back, a someone who apparently sensed his awakening and stopped. "Are you all right, Himura-san?"

"...Chest hurts," he mumbled, then winced. "'M okay."

"Really?" Sôjirô said with gentle skepticism. "I've heard that Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryû attacks can be pretty rough."

"Hiten...what?"

"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryû. Your father's sword style. I'm pretty sure that your injury was from a Ryûkansen...though it's odd that he would attack you like that. I wouldn't have thought it of him."

Kenji considered passing out again, just to escape and make it all go _away_...but that would be a stupid, cowardly thing to do. Not like it mattered, anyway. "Whatever," he mumbled. "My parents hate me. Didn't want me. I don't care." He drew in a shaky breath. "Where are we?" he asked, trying to get down.

Sôjirô complied and then answered, "We need to get as far away as we can before the order comes in. Please bear with me, Himura-san."

Kenji blinked gratefully around at the homely sight of closed shops and parked cars on a quiet moonlit street, and followed his guide without protest.

o.o.o.o.o

_"Himura,"_ a voice crackled from the communicator at Kenshin's belt, making them all jump. _"Where are you? The hostages are all out, except the ones who belong to you."_

"Kaoru-dono is with me. Where is my son?" Kenshin snarled back at Saitô.

_"How should I know? Weren't _you_ the one who was supposed to find him when you insisted on charging in?"_

"He's been moved, we think he might not be in the building anymore...." Kenshin forgot to finish, because his eyes had fallen on Tomoe and he saw her suddenly tense. For one second she stood as if listening. Then her eyes widened. Just as she began to turn, just when Kenshin had reached out with his senses and realized what she was reacting to, several half-transformed dragons came barreling around the corner.

Tomoe raised her arm, there were shouts from Kaoru and Akira - and then all three of them were gone. Kenshin, finding himself alone in the corridor, shouted furiously and charged after them. Even in his human form he was terrifyingly fast, but they were hybrids, and a match for him in speed; in addition to that they had the element of surprise and the benefit of being able to see better in the guttering light. He barely even registered which direction the Kiyosatos were taken in when the dragons carrying them suddenly split up, since all his attention was focused on Kaoru.

"Let me go!" she was shouting. "Let _go_ of me, before I knock your stupid heads off!" They rounded a corner and he lost sight of them; he put on a burst of speed and found himself slamming out into the open night. _"Kaoru!"_ he shouted.

"Kenshin!"

He ran toward her voice, plunged straight through a row of hedges and found her on the other side. "They disarmed me before I could even _blink_!" she yelled angrily. He dashed up to her and slung her behind him, swirling frantically as he searched for her abductors. "They're gone," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Kenshin--"

He whirled back to her and for a moment they held each other tightly. Then he pulled back so he could see her face. "What happened?"

"I don't know - one minute they were dragging me off, then I managed to get in a few good shots and they dropped me...but I don't _think_ I hit them that hard."

"Adrenaline?" he mumbled distractedly, already turning his gaze back to the building. "Kenji's still--"

The world was thunder, and fire.

o.o.o.o.o

Two people were waiting for them next to an idling car: Enishi, and a short man wearing a business suit and a long coat.

"Enishi," Akira spat as they were dragged up. "Enough with your games. Let us go, _now_."

"Neesan," Enishi said conversationally, "aren't you grateful that I remembered to save your mate, too? I just hope he shuts his annoying mouth soon, or this sword might get antsy." He patted the ornate hilt of his ancient but still deadly weapon.

Akira, red-faced, opened his mouth for a retort, but Tomoe spoke first. "Sadojima-san," she said quietly, "what does your master have to do with all this?"

Sadojima Houji shrugged. "We're interested in the boy. It seems that if we have him, we won't need the rest of his family after all. Yukishiro-san has agreed to cooperate for now, since our interests have something in common."

Tomoe felt cold. "Enishi?"

He shrugged. "I've got plenty of data from the females to work with for now, and they want the Himura brat for stuff that makes just as good a revenge as anything _I_ could do to him. As long as you're safe and he's not, I could care less."

"Enishi!"

"Put them in the car," Houji ordered, then pulled out a communicator. "Are we all out?"

_"Yes, sir."_

"Good." Houji flipped a switch, altering the signal. "Sôjirô."

_"Hello, Houji-san. Is it time?"_ came the boy's cheerful inquiry through the static.

"We're all clear. Punch it."

_"As you command."_

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji watched curiously as Sôjirô replaced the communicator. "What's going on?"

"Just a moment, Himura-san." Sôjirô pulled out what looked something like a remote and casually pressed a button.

"What's that do?" Kenji asked suspiciously. As Sôjirô smiled, Kenji jumped at a sudden distant boom, and he looked back the way they had come to see fire and smoke blackening the night sky. "What did you just do?!"

"Let's go, Himura-san."

"Where are you taking me?" Kenji demanded. "And quit calling me Himura! I'm Takani!" His throat instantly tightened as he remembered about Megumi, that the only mother he had ever known was dead. He did not have a home to go back to anymore. He was...lost.

"I am taking you to my master," Sôjirô said quietly. "Unlike Yukishiro-san, my master recognizes your true value, and will not mistreat you. Will you come willingly?"

"Do I have a choice?" Kenji said sullenly.

"About the fact that you are coming with me? No," Sôjirô answered easily. "About the method of conveying you, yes."

Kenji closed his eyes, his hands curled into fists. Sôjirô waited. Finally Kenji opened his eyes again and nodded. Sôjirô smiled. "Very well, then. Come - it will not do for me to take on my dragon's form here. We still have some way to go."

o.o.o.o.o

She must have blacked out for a few moments, because she woke up feeling as if she was suffocating. Coughing desperately, Kaoru peered through watering eyes and saw nothing but burning wreckage, smoke choking the air, and Kenshin on his knees close by, staring at the aftermath of the explosion in utter shock. "Ken--"

She could not speak. It burned her throat and set her coughing again, the taste of smoke filling her mouth. Her ears were ringing...the shouts of people in the distance were very faint, the sound of the flames was hushed. Kaoru reached urgently to grasp Kenshin's arm. He flinched and whirled as if to attack, but checked himself in time. For a minute they stared at each other, tears streaming from eyes that were irritated by the thick smoke.

Except that he was sobbing, too.

_"Kenshin!"_ She spoke with her hands, because it hurt too much to use her voice. _"Kenshin, where is Kenji?"_ Why was she asking when she already knew the answer?

His hands seemed so heavy as he signed back, _"Gone."_

"Gone?!" The word, cried out in shock, sent her choking again. She felt his hands on her as she struggled to recover-- His hands were shaking. It terrified her. _"What do you mean, 'gone'?!"_

They locked eyes for a long moment. His were unfocused, not fully recovered from facing the explosion. She couldn't understand his gestures - "building," "out," "not." Then, unmistakably, _"Dead."_

"NO!" she screamed. "NO!_ NO_!!!" Wracked with agony in her tortured throat, she dropped to her hands and knees and coughed up trails of acid saliva. Her mouth felt filthy. He reached for her again, meaning to comfort; she flinched when one of his tears dropped onto the back of her hand. She furiously slammed her fist into his chest. _'Kenji...no...my first child, gone like all the others...I never got to hold him...he thought we-- he thought we didn't--'_

"NOOOO!!!"

o.o.o.o.o

"He doesn't look like much."

Kenji glared, forcing himself to uphold his fake-relaxed pose. Sôjirô had brought him to something like an underground labyrinth that had been hidden beneath a seemingly-abandoned old house in the middle of nowhere. It was a fitting cave for the ultimate dragon - if Shishio Makoto was really up to all these people's bragging. Kenji now stood under the gaze of many eyes, most of them contemptuous, wondering wistfully if there was any way he could have avoided this situation.

"His father does not look very impressive at first glance either, Shishio-san," Sôjirô pointed out cheerfully.

"Hm." The heavily-bandaged figure rose and approached. Kenji held his head high and glared as he was inspected, feeling like he was about to be sold off or something. "You don't look so impressive yourself, Mr. Band-Aids," he muttered.

The man leisurely came back around and paused. He was very close. "Pardon?"

The voice was soft, but it sent fear prickling up and down Kenji's spine. He struggled to control his breathing and finally said, "Who're you to talk about other people's _looks_?" He steeled himself for a blow, vowing to show no emotion, but the scarred man merely smiled before turning away in apparent disinterest. "True."

In the next second he had flashed back, suddenly with a sword in his hand that Kenji just had time to register before finding himself facedown on the floor. Furiously, aching from the blunt strike, he pushed himself back to his feet. Someone thrust a weapon into his own hand, and he gripped it without thinking. This was a real sword, and the heavy steel dragged back at him sullenly, but he attacked anyway.

He could see almost at once that it was no use. Amazing as his kendo progress had been, he had not been training long enough to match this man, and he was not used to wielding a deadly weapon anyway. Shishio was stronger and vastly more experienced. Kenji managed to land a single glancing blow, not even enough to draw blood. One or two of the bandages parted, but that was all; then Kenji's world shrank down to pain and a deep, agonizing humiliation. In the end it was a relief to pass out and escape the mocking laughter.

o.o.o.o.o

Their bodies formed a warm nest, the last of their precious children nestled within the circle of their protection. The girls were curled into each other, Ayame with a wing spread to cover her sister. They lay silently, Ayame clutching her father's hand as he stroked her hair with the other, Suzume wrapped in her mother's arms.

Kenshin's voice was low and soothing, barely seeming to break the quiet. "What was he like?"

"Ken-nii was brave," Suzume asserted at once, as if she had been longing to say it. Yet the loudness of her own voice startled her, and she hid her face.

"He was very brave," Ayame whispered. "He protected us just like you, Daddy." She paused, then said in a voice that trembled, "When they were cutting his face, he didn't even cry." She could not see her mother's expression, because Kaoru had covered her face, but Ayame saw her body shaking with silent sobs, and it frightened her. "...Mommy...?"

"Your mother is very sad," Kenshin whispered.

Ayame could hear the tears in his voice. "We're all very sad," she said, and they cried together for a while.

After a long time, when Ayame could talk without her words sounding like rocks that had been crushed to gravel in her throat, she folded her wings and turned around so that she could see her father's face. She had to move slowly and carefully, because her legs still hurt. "Daddy?" She didn't mean to, but she was shivering. "Daddy...are me and Suzume going to die, too? Just like--" Just like the others, she had meant to say. Just like all the other brothers and sisters, both the ones she had never known and the ones she had. She could not finish speaking, though, because the look on her father's face...the way his eyes were suddenly blazing--

She yelped when she felt a hand grip her shoulder, and squirmed around frantically until she saw that it was her mother. The movements made the ache in her legs flare up again. "Ayame," her mother told her in a furious voice, fury at all the bad things that kept trying to hurt them. "You will not die. _You will not die._ You and Suzume will live."

Their father's strong arm came around them, like a shield. "You will live." His voice was softer, but filled with no less conviction. "We will fight with all our strength so that Ayame and Suzume will live."

Ayame's eyes filled with tears, and she heard Suzume's wavering voice. "Why do we have to fight?"

Kenshin leaned over to kiss her. "Because you are worth fighting for." After a long time the girls fell asleep, safe. Their parents kept watch, and wept.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: This chapter was _unbelievably_ hard to write and edit. The only way I could deal with it was by creating a comic relief behind-the-scenes world to take the edge off things. I ended up turning that into an omake, which I plan to post after the epilogue.

Kenshin and Kaoru's personal sign language was developed in _Sapphire Scales_.

Although Kenshin can sense ki, he cannot distinguish between individuals except by normal guesswork (as when he figured that the scumbags hiding behind the fence were probably the Hiruma brothers, or that the vengeful presence in Houji's room had to be Aoshi). Note how he once mistook Kaoru for Jin-e, because her fury was so comically close to Jin-e's hostility. If some unseen enemy comes charging at him in the dark, intending serious harm, it's very unlikely that he'd realize that the enemy would turn out to be a person whom he thinks is being held captive elsewhere.

There are a ton of other behind-the-scenes notes for this chapter, but they all manifested in the omake. For example, after working for me in _Faerie Chronicles_, the two villains approached me while this fic was in development and asked if they could switch roles. "Can I _please_ be the Figure of Ultimate Evil this time?" Enishi begged, and Shishio informed me coldly, "The next time you expect me to do _all_ your friggin' dirty work, I'll consider it a breach of contract."


	3. Stories

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 3 – Stories **(PARTIAL ROUGH DRAFT)**

A/N: "Shishou" means "Master" or "Teacher" (it's what Kenshin calls Hiko).

Okay, I give up. There are more details at the end of the chapter, but basically, I am throwing out my "I'm not updating 'til I get it into final draft form!" rule. This chapter has been closely edited up until "I hadn't been sure there were any creatures;" after that, it's still a rough draft.

--

"It's been months," Kaoru raged, "and you're expecting us to believe that you haven't made any progress whatsoever."

Saitô Hajime gazed at her past a tendril upward-trailing cigarette smoke. "Calm down."

"Calm down? Calm _down_?! When Yukishiro Enishi still walks free?" she shouted at him. "He has killed and tortured my children! I want him _dead_!"

"Don't give me enough reason to arrest you," he said calmly. "I've got enough paperwork to deal with as it is."

"You heartless--!"

"If it's personal revenge you seek," he said sharply, "you're coming to the wrong place for help. This is a law enforcement agency, not a pack of mercenaries. We have specified guidelines for how to see that justice is done."

Kenshin spoke up now, his voice calm but very cold. "So you have no leads on where these people are?"

"Yukishiro is lying low, there hasn't been a peep out of him since the night of the explosion. Shishio's men, on the other hand, couldn't stay quiet even if they tried, though it's not certain how closely they are connected to Yukishiro. I am not in a position to draw any official conclusions yet from either the older or the more recent Dragon Project data."

"Which makes you and your men a gang of absolutely useless--" Kaoru started, but broke off when Kenshin rose.

"Thank you, Saitô," he said witheringly. "You've been very helpful."

"A pleasure," the police chief said with a straight face, exhaling more smoke.

When their mother and father came out of the office, the girls looked up from their coloring books and leaped gladly to their feet. They ran to their parents and were caught up at once by glad arms. "We're okay, Mommy," Suzume assured her as she was cuddled.

"Were you keeping an eye on us, Daddy?" Ayame asked anxiously.

He smiled. "Of course."

"Kenshin." He glanced over at his wife inquiringly. "Why did you leave? Was it really going to be impossible to get any information out of him?"

"We _did_ get some information, as much as he was willing to let slip," Kenshin said slowly. "We need to talk to Megumi-san."

Kaoru looked away. After a minute she finally sighed, and muttered in answer to his continuing stare, "Yes, yes, I still have her phone number."

o.o.o.o.o

A man named Mikage Kagami was head of the committee in charge of the proposed Hybrid Species Regulations Bill. Disturbing information had come to light regarding the existence and criminal activity of individuals who could actually transform into dangerous animals. It was obvious that something needed to be done quickly to get this threat under tight control, and to make sure that legal elimination of these creatures would be possible if necessary.

At the moment, however, Mikage was not thinking about any of that. Rather, he was musing on the plans he had made that evening with his mistress, and he was also mildly annoyed at the news that his chauffeur had apparently gone to the wrong side of the building to pick him up. Now he would have to wait for the car to circle back around, and he was not a man who was used to waiting on his inferiors.

Mikage was slightly startled when a distinctive figure stepped up to him and smiled. The boy was slender and almost girlishly pretty, with long reddish hair tied up in a ponytail and large scars on one cheek that did surprisingly little to mar his looks. He would stand out in a crowd even if he was dressed normally, but he wore hakama instead of jeans and carried what looked like an authentic sword at his waist.

"What do you want, kid?" Mikage said impatiently. Such an odd (not to mention young) person should not even have been admitted onto the grounds.

"I want to kill you," the boy answered readily enough.

Mikage frowned, reaching for his cell phone. "I'm calling security. I won't tolerate this sort of thing," he warned, meaning both the breach of protocol and the fact that the boy was obviously either attempting a very unwise practical joke or was mentally ill.

The boy stepped back a little and adopted a vaguely ominous pose, one hand on the sword hilt as if he was preparing to draw it. "Actually," he continued conversationally, "it's not so much that I _want_ to kill you - I'm only following orders, after all. Wait, there's a phrase for that - 'I bear no personal grudge against you,' or something. Yeah, what I _really _want is to prove to Shishou that if my old man could pull off assassinations in broad daylight, then I can, too. Bye." The young assassin's work was done in an instant, giving him plenty of time to flip off one of the security cameras before vanishing from the premises.

o.o.o.o.o

There was an awkward moment when Takani Megumi opened the door and then just stood there, staring. Finally the girls shifted in restless confusion and Megumi gave herself a little shake. "Forgive me...please, come in."

"Please forgive the intrusion," Kaoru murmured as she stepped hesitantly into the house. Looking around, she found that it was small but tidy, and furnished with good taste. However, there were a lot of blank spaces on the walls, which probably had something to do with the pile of framed photographs on one of the tables in the living room. The removed photos were too far away to see clearly, except that the ones on top seemed to feature a red-haired figure.

Kaoru, suddenly blinded with tears, squeezed Suzume's hand convulsively so that the child whimpered. Kaoru had just been assaulted by a flash of grief and regret, imagining Kenji smiling to have his picture taken. What shows had he liked to watch on that TV? What had been his favorite things to eat? Where did he usually prefer to do his homework? Little things, but somehow they magnified her loss so that she had to work hard to suppress a wail.

She felt Kenshin's arm around her shoulders and leaned into his embrace, taking strength from him until she had her face under control again and was able to look up. Their eyes met, and she nodded, then looked around for Megumi.

The other woman had her back turned to them as if she, too, had needed a moment to compose herself. When she moved slowly to face them again, her eyes were bright and her voice was very quiet. "He...looked very much like you," she said to Kenshin.

None of them could speak after that. It was Ayame who broke the silence, frowning up at the stairs. "What's that?" There was a repetitive, muffled barking, apparently from a very frantic dog. As they all listened, the noise broke down into pathetic whining that sounded like a child's sobs.

"I locked him up," Megumi said apologetically. "He's not small, and he likes to jump on people. I didn't think it would be a good idea--"

"Is it Ken-nii's dog?" Ayame suddenly asked. Megumi looked at the faces of her guests and realized that Katana needed to be here. Wordlessly, she went up to let him out.

The girls shrieked when the russet-colored mutt came bounding toward them. Their parents' reflexes were quick; Kenshin snatched up one daughter and Kaoru the other just in time. The dog reared up and rested its front paws on Kenshin's arm, licking hysterically at every part of Suzume it could reach; then it whirled and set upon the other two. Kaoru rocked back a step and braced herself against the dog's weight. Both girls were yelling at the top of their voices, looking excited, frightened, and fascinated all at once.

"KATANA, _DOWN_!" Megumi roared. Instantly the dog was flat on its belly on the floor, wriggling in abject hopefulness at her feet.

"Bad doggy!" Suzume shrieked, nearly choking Kenshin with the strength of her grip around his neck. "Wanna pet him!"

It was a few minutes before both the dog and the girls were calmed down enough to be politely introduced, but Katana proved to be well behaved when he had gotten past the initial ecstasy of greeting. Ayame and Suzume, when they dared to return to the ground, were delighted with his anxious-to-please friendliness.

"What happened to his back?" Kaoru wondered as she roughly stroked the dog's floppy ears. She was looking at the three or four long, thin scars where fur did not grow, and the practiced way the dog kept its weight off one paw, as if accustomed to an old injury.

A lump came into Megumi's throat as she realized that she could not bring herself to tell them. "An accident," she managed hoarsely. "It happened a long time ago, when he was still a puppy. He's all right now."

"Poor little thing," Kaoru cooed, stroking gently over the scars and then nuzzling her face against the dog's, laughing when he tried to lick her again.

Megumi looked up - into Kenshin's frozen eyes. "An accident?" he repeated, very softly.

Megumi was trembling. "It was a long time ago," she whispered again. "He's...all right now. Was." She hugged her arms tightly around herself.

"I see," Kenshin whispered back.

Kaoru was looking at them now, frowning. She opened her mouth, but then suddenly closed it again and squeezed her eyes shut. Unable to stand it anymore, Megumi went quickly into the kitchen to prepare some tea.

They all settled down, the girls playing with Katana in the living room while the adults kept an eye on them from the tiny dining area off the kitchen. Kenshin spoke first, since everyone was obviously finding it difficult. "We can get nothing more from the police, so we finally thought that we would come to you. I'm sorry we had to intrude on you at this time, but--"

Megumi was already waving her hand. "No, I'm glad you're here. I should have met with you earlier, it's just that...after what happened, I...."

Kaoru finally said, "We don't know enough about the Dragon Project. Tomoe-san told us everything she could, but--"

"Kiyosato Tomoe," Kenshin clarified. "She is Yukishiro Enishi's older sister, and was one of his key test subjects until he was arrested and the Project fell apart. She is...." He paused. "She and her husband are the reason all of this started."

"'All of this,'" Megumi repeated. She was looking hard at Kenshin and Kaoru. "So it's true that dragons aren't extinct." She took a pained breath. "I saw...all those years ago, I _saw_ what Yukishiro had been up to, but they were all so horrible, even the ones that had survived...." Kenji was the only one who had looked healthy in comparison, the only one who didn't seem to be deformed, dying, falling apart from the inside - but then, she had never been sure that he was anything other than human, either. She had noticed a lot of strange things about Kenji, but there was nothing that could not be attributed to his nightmarish childhood. Was he simply human, or was he one of the 'successes'? Information had been very difficult to get hold of, even before she had gone into hiding.

"I hadn't been sure there were any creatures - any people - who successfully came through what was done to them. The dragons have been a carefully-guarded secret until now, but because of my previous work, I...I heard...rumors, that not all of Yukishiro's subjects were failures. They were there, weren't they, on that night. Dragons." She was still looking hard at them, trying and failing to find any sign of something less - or more - than human. "Including you two."

Kenshin and Kaoru glanced at each other. Finally he said, "Megumi-san, the real dragons are all dead. It's true that _they_, at least, are extinct."

"They were animals," Kaoru put in. "Just animals like any other, with no human speech or thought. We...we lost several of our children to hunters, who thought they were...." She couldn't finish, and Kenshin took her hand.

"Kaoru-dono was different," he murmured.

Kaoru took a deep breath and seemed to get herself under control again. "I was born human," she said awkwardly. "I _am_ human, we both are. I was transformed against my will.... It was Kenshin who freed me, but afterward I found that I could use either form as I chose. I gave the power to Kenshin, and we thought we could be happy. But our children...."

"They are different," Kenshin said quietly. "They are not like us, limited to one form or the other. Our transformations are artificial; theirs.... They were _born_ to it. For our children, there is no conflict between dragon and human."

"And Yukishiro Enishi became interested in that, and decided to use this...ability for scientific advancement," Megumi guessed.

Kenshin and Kaoru looked at her. "...No."

"No?" Megumi said in surprise. "But the laboratories, the experiments - wasn't the purpose of it all to develop a race of super-humans?"

"That was simply a by-product," Kenshin said quietly. "Shishio Makoto is the one who became interested in that. The true purpose...revenge."

Kaoru's eyes flicked to her husband in surprise. "What? It's not...it's not for Tomoe-san's sake?"

Kenshin glanced at her. "Kaoru-dono, have you seen his eyes, when he looks at his sister? There is no hope left in them, only rage." Kaoru frowned.

"But the Dragon Project," Megumi said. "Why was it so methodical? The results, and the failures--"

"Enishi was looking for a cure."

Megumi stared. "A cure...for being a dragon?"

"A long time ago," Kaoru said softly, "When...when that first egg was still unhatched, it was stolen, by Kiyosato Akira."

"He wanted to tame a dragon," Kenshin said shortly. "This was before the real dragons were gone. He thought we were animals like the rest, and he took Kenji - I bit him."

"You-- what?"

"Dragon bites," Kaoru explained, "are dangerous. If enough poison gets into your blood, you will lose your human consciousness and become an animal. If you survive, that is. That's what happened to Akira-san."

"Tomoe-san knew. She asked me to do the same to her. She refused to leave her husband, even when she saw what he had become."

"But," Megumi said, frowning, "there is nothing wrong with the Kiyosatos."

Kenshin's teeth clenched. "Yes," he ground out. _"Now."_

"Because," Kaoru growled, when she saw the other woman's uncomprehending expression, "Yukishiro Enishi eventually found that lost egg, and used the hatchling to develop a 'cure.'"

Megumi stared, open-mouthed. "What... He can...?"

"He can take humans, and he can _turn them into dragons_ - with their humanity intact. When he perfected the technique with Shishio, he was finally able to use it on his sister and her husband, whom he had been keeping captive."

Megumi was slowly shaking her head. "It can't be." Then she gave them a sharp look. "You said this started back before the dragons - real ones - went extinct. If what you're saying is true, then you and the Kiyosatos and Yukishiro would have to be...." She trailed off when she saw their faces. "How old _are_ you?" she said abruptly.

Kenshin gave her a small smile. "You probably don't want to know."

"Dragons have long lifespans," Kaoru murmured.

Megumi sipped at her tea without tasting it, then abruptly set her cup down. "And the girls? They're...they were _born_ that way? As dragons?"

"Yes."

Megumi sat in silent thought for a while. "May I see?" she finally asked, very softly.

Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged a long look. Then she nodded, and he turned in his chair to call to the children.

The girls bounded up to enquiringly, with Katana bounding at their heels. "What is it, Daddy?"

"Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan...will you show Megumi-san your wings?"

"Is it allowed?" Ayame asked uncertainly, glancing back and forth between the adults. Kaoru nodded reassuringly.

Megumi stared at the inhuman appendages that emerged, supple membranes stretched between the strong skeletal structure. From a purely biological standpoint, it was beautiful; in the context...shocking. She could not speak for a minute.

"Mommy?" Suzume asked in a small voice. "Does she like them?"

"Of course she likes them," Kaoru said soothingly, and glared daggers at Megumi.

"They're...very lovely," the other woman managed. She tried to smile, and the girls smiled back before shyly scampering back to the living room.

Megumi sat for a while, knowing that the other two were watching her. Then she leaned forward and put her face in her hands. "It explains things," she whispered. It was difficult, trying to say Kenji's name. "He always had problems with his back. He couldn't stand completely straight, and sometimes the pain was so bad he would have to miss school. But he refused to have surgery, or even to even let himself be more than superficially examined."

When she raised her head, her eyes were wet. "He hated all doctors. When he was first rescued, he had to be sedated almost the entire time he was in the hospital. Later, even after he came to trust me, some things were still off-limits, and he wouldn't let anyone touch him other than me. Of course it was because of what he had been through...." She swallowed. "But I'd never seen any sure sign that he was a dragon. He never let me see that part of himself, but...if it's true, it would...explain a lot." All three of them were crying again, silently so the girls would not notice.

"Megumi-san, please," Kaoru begged. "Tell us about him. We have nothing. We...we have nothing."

Megumi wiped at her eyes and tried to get a hold of herself. "Let me show you," she said slowly, and got up from the table. She came back with a photo album. The other two braced themselves when they saw it, desperate for what it contained, and afraid.

Megumi hesitated with her hand on the cover. "The first picture is from the day he was found. I also want to show you the last picture I took of him, and then we can look at the ones in between."

She had been wise to caution them. The first photograph, labeled 'Dragon Project, child A-1,' showed a wild-haired young boy wearing nothing but a blanket partially wrapped around him, screaming as he turned away from the camera and lifted one hand in a warding gesture; the other arm was gripped in an effort to keep him still.

Megumi did not let their anguished, furious eyes drink in the image; she flipped to the last page, which contained a couple of photographs of the same scene. The page was labeled, 'Takani Kenji, age 14; clockwise from him, Daisuke, Kyouya, Kimi, and Kakeru; Saturday study group.' In one photograph, the five teens were laughing about something as they sprawled comfortably amidst textbooks and plates of half-eaten food in the very same living room where Ayame and Suzume were now playing. Katana was curled up in a corner of the photo, chewing contentedly on a ragged stuffed animal. In the other photograph, the teens were all looking at the camera and smiling, some them making goofy poses as a laughing Kenji tried to ward off the dog's eager attentions.

The disparity between the terrified child and the grinning youth was incredible. This older Kenji was in jeans and a T-shirt like any other boy his age, seeming perfectly at his ease; even his crooked pose seemed like a natural slouch, only recognizable for what it was if you already knew. To think of this flourishing boy as they had last seen him, once more in pain and fear and darkness, to know that in the end he had been swallowed up before the light could reach him again.... It was too much, for a while.

The girls noticed the tears and came over in fearful concern, and it was all together that they looked at the rest, watched the wounded young boy slowly emerge from his shell and begin to embrace his new life, in these progressive instants of captured time. The child with haunted eyes glaring out from the darkness underneath a bed; hunched suspiciously over a birthday cake; crying in a school uniform as two little girls and a distressed-looking teacher tried to console him; smiling shyly as he clutched a shopping bag outside a toy store; open-mouthed in surprise as a russet-colored puppy was held out to him; uplifted face shining with delight as he gripped a kite string; grinning mischievously as he and another boy were caught reaching for an elaborate wedding cake; training determinedly with a shinai amongst a crowd of fellow students; posing casually with classmates in front of a school.

["So," Kenshin said after a minute, his voice a little cold, "you were tracking his progress."

Kaoru looked at him sharply, and Megumi's eyes narrowed. "Yes," she said curtly. "Of course I was expected to monitor and record him throughout his recovery. Do you honestly believe that, because of that, I was unable to love him at the same time?" She paused. "Like it or not, Kenshin-san, he was my son, just as much as he was yours."

After a moment Kenshin nodded tightly. "Yes," he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry. I was taking it out on-- I'm sorry."]

They were quiet for a while, except for the girls' soft murmurings as they paged through the photographs again. Then Megumi said thoughtfully, "Kenshin-san, you are proficient in the art of the sword?" She smiled a little when he nodded, adding that his wife also practiced sword arts. "He takes after you," Megumi said softly. "I enrolled him in self-defense classes, but he wanted more. He didn't just want to learn self-defense, or even how to fight for its own sake - he was very passionate about kendo itself. He always wanted to be strong. It's...." She hesitated. "It's a shame," she continued slowly, "that he wasn't born in an earlier era. He had...so much potential." Her throat was tightening again, and she could say the rest only in a whisper. "He could have helped so many people."

"He can't now," Kenshin said sharply, out of his own pain, and again they fell silent.

"Look," Ayame laughed the next moment. "Ken-nii looks like Daddy again." She pointed at a picture of Kenji posing with friends, all of them in costume. "You like to dress up as ronin?" Megumi inquired dryly.

"She means...." It was too lengthy, and personal, to explain. He took a deep breath and changed tack. "Megumi-san," he said carefully, "years ago, when Enishi was arrested, we were unable to learn much about...about Kenji's fate. He was already far away and the investigation was secret by the time we learned what had happened. We came...."

"Please, Megumi-san," Kaoru spoke up. "We need the police's information on Enishi, and on Shishio. Will you help us?"

Megumi looked at them. "Nothing I can give you will help bring Kenji back," she said quietly. When their expressions hardened, she sighed and got up to find her paperwork on the Dragon Project. "I can make you copies," she said, knowing that otherwise they would stay until they had gone through every document.

"Thank you," Kaoru said.

"What about the computers?" Kenshin put in. "Surely this isn't everything you have access to."

Megumi fixed him with a meaningful look. "Please realize that if I dig into the past, especially in light of what's happened, especially if it's known you came to see me.... Are you sure?"

Kenshin and Kaoru glanced at each other, then looked back at her steadily.

Megumi sighed. "All right."

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji watched, fascinated, as delicate swirls of pink invaded the once-clear water and slowly permeated the entire bowl. He splashed his hands some more, refreshed by the feel of the dried stuff being washed away, but then the memory of blood-splattered grass came to him, and he suddenly felt a little sick.

The pleasure was gone as he turned instead to the sink, running a full stream of hot water and scrubbing vigorously. After a while pain began nagging at the corners of his mind, but he ignored it, thinking of blood and the way it looked and sounded when it came gushing out of a fatal sword wound. His skin prickled, he couldn't shake the disturbing sensation that there was blood soaking his clothes, running through his hair, dripping down his back--

He was jerked back to the present by a touch on his arm. It was very gentle, but he reacted instantly and soundlessly. There was a gasp, and Kenji's vision abruptly came in to focus, just in time; his blade halted a hair's breadth from Tomoe's throat. They stared at each other. "Uh...." He cleared his throat uncomfortably and sheathed his sword. "Sorry." It was a little hard to keep his grip on the hilt for some reason.

"Kenji-san." Her voice was quiet. It made him realize that the sink was still running, and he glanced over to see clouds of steam rising. He reached to turn off the water, but forgot to complete the gesture when he saw his hand. It was an angry red color, and very sore. He stared at it. After a moment Tomoe wordlessly shut off the hot water and ran the cold, then gently pulled Kenji's hands underneath the flow. "Please be more careful."

"Sorry," he whispered.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Now that the main exposition is out of the way, I can finally post the first few "chapters" of the omake - they should be on my MediaMinerDotOrg account soon (same pen name). Most of the author's notes stuff is in there.

**Okay, and because somebody is probably going to bring it up...this is such an undignified topic, but in the cause of realisticness, I must address the issue, though I will try to be vague**...I'm going with the idea that, when the child of a hybrid is ready to be born, the mother will give birth in whatever form she's in at the time. And since humans are mammals but dragons are not, it's possible that a pregnant hybrid, after a certain point in the gestation period, might be stuck being in whatever form she is currently in until she gives birth.  
A certain character is now tugging at my sleeve and huffing at me, "This would have been really good to know _before_ we decided to start making babies." And my answer is, "Then we wouldn't have a story." She says that would have been perfectly fine with her. I don't blame her. *sweatdrop*  
Oh, and also, **apparently dragon eggs are really hardy. Or else...magic was involved in keeping the thing alive for so long.** Something like that. Yes. See, this is one reason I like writing rough drafts so much more than editing.

I do have to write a new short chapter after this, in order to include some scenes that I missed in the first draft, and I have to go through the rest of the chapters to clean up some mistakes, but **I am definitely not going to bother with much textual editing before I update again**. OCD makes that task EXTREMELY slow and difficult, so I'll save that stage of the project until after I've gotten the complete second draft posted. **I apologize, guys. No one should have to wait more than a month between story updates, yet here I was leaving the end of that awful chapter 2 dangling for over **_**half a year**_. *shakes head at self*


	4. Friends

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 4 - Friends **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

A/N: This is the "lost" chapter that I've been putting together since the last update - I realized that there was a surprising amount of material that I'd forgotten to write in the first draft of this story, and most of it seemed to fit between Chapter 3 and the original Chapter 4 (which is, obviously, now Chapter 5). I hope the tone doesn't clash with the rest of the fic.

--

"Blargh...." Kenji stumbled down the hall at a little past three o'clock in the morning, making his way pretty much by feel alone, since his eyes were still refusing to open. He had his sword grasped in one hand, since there was nowhere else to put it - he was still only wearing the boxers and tank top he had slept in. Silently, he cursed Shishio for giving the assignment in the first place, then himself, for getting off to such a late start. Still, the man was _insane_ for expecting a teenager to wake up before seven in the morning.

"And if Chou finished off the last of the eggs, I'll kill him, too...."

Kenji trudged into the kitchen and over to the cabinets, opening them to peer blurrily at their contents. He was already pulling out a frying pan and spatula before he realized that he was feeling uneasy; and the stove was already on before he realized that he felt uneasy because he was sensing someone else in the room.

"Who is it?!" The carton of eggs dropped to the countertop with a rattle as Kenji whipped his sword out of its sheath.

"It's me it's me it's Yahiko don't kill me don't kill me!!!!"

Kenji stood there, trembling in surprise as he and his would-be victim stared into each other's faces. The scruffy-haired, dirty-faced kid looked terrified, standing stock-still with the blade poised at his throat.

Then Kenji blinked and re-sheathed his weapon. "Oh." He turned away and started checking the eggs to see which ones had been cracked. He could hear Yahiko shifting uneasily behind him.

"What the freak was that for?" the boy finally burst out. "I wasn't doing anything!"

"Don't sneak up on an assassin next time," Kenji muttered, getting a plate ready.

"I didn't _sneak up_ on you," Yahiko insisted. "I was just going about my business; _you _were the one wandering around like a drunk zombie before you realized I was here."

Kenji gritted his teeth, though he did not look away from the food he was preparing. "What are you doing up at three in the morning anyway?"

"Had to take a leak," Yahiko muttered, "thought I'd stop and get a snack on the way back to bed. What are _you_ doing up at three in the morning?"

That was such a stupid question that Kenji did not bother to answer. He cooked his eggs in silence and dumped them onto his plate, which he carried along with a glass of water to the table, where he dug in without pausing. He would have loved to be able to season his eggs and to add coffee and juice to the meal, as well as any kind of sugar-saturated cereal and maybe some rice with meaty chunks, but he was much better disciplined now than he had been in his previous life. It sucked.

"So...who is it this time?" Yahiko finally asked, cautiously.

Kenji glanced up in mild irritation. He was surprised that the kid had not run off yet. "Who cares. Some dragon-hating creep who lives an hour's drive away." He swore and added under his breath, "If I could just fly...."

Yahiko fidgeted. He could not imagine what it would be like, not even to be a regular human who had never known what it meant to fly on one's own wings, but to have _had_ the ability and then - lost it. He wanted to ask the older boy about it, but he didn't dare. "You think you'll be able to make it?" he finally asked instead.

"I'd better," Kenji muttered darkly. Even though he had finished eating, he felt stupidly unwilling to leave, so he just sat there and sipped at his water, grimacing a little at the bland liquid. Sometimes he felt like he would kill, literally, for the chance to taste ice cream or something again. Then he glanced at the clock and swore again. "It's worse than school!"

Yahiko frowned cautiously. "What?"

"I _hate_ getting up early," Kenji snarled sulkily. "It was bad enough having to drag myself out of bed for school; now I'm getting up at two, three in the morning so I can go off these rich, fat bozos and then get my butt out of there." He tipped his head and hurled the last of the water down his throat.

As he was getting up to take the plate and glass to the sink, he thought he heard Yahiko say, "I wish I could have gone to school."

Kenji turned around and stared. "You _want_ to go to school?"

Yahiko fidgeted again. "I...I envy you, you know." He looked away as if anticipating Kenji's glare. "In some ways. I mean, you got to have a few years of a _normal_ life. I...I've always been...."

Kenji kept staring, curious now. He knew that Yahiko had been a dragon for most of his young life; had ended up with Shishio and Sôjirô as a toddler and had grown up in their strange company. It had never occurred to him to ask for details. "You've never been to school?"

Yahiko fiddled with the empty bag of chips in front of him, having long since finished eating the contents. "What's it like?"

"It sucks. You have to wake up early, and teachers are herding you around all day from class to class, and homework sucks, and--" Kenji swallowed, shocked at the sudden emotion that was clogging his throat and stinging his eyes. "...and...you get to - hang out with your friends," he added hoarsely, lost in memory. Daisuke, Kimi, Kyouya, Kakeru. Gone, along with his old life.

"...Did you have friends?"

Kenji frowned and swallowed hard. "Yeah. Bunch of idiots." He shook his head violently. "It was cool hanging out with them, though," he added wistfully. "We'd joke around at lunch, meet at the mall, play baseball on weekends and go to movies and concerts...." He thought of Daisuke's gentle laugh and easy-to-tease sense of propriety; Kimi with her boobs and her sexy long hair and her energetic, exasperating personality that had usually gotten them into trouble; Kakeru's sense of humor and crazy adventures that had usually gotten them into even more trouble; and Kyouya, with his dark smile and steady demeanor, they one they all depended on, the one who always managed to get them _out_ of trouble, for a price. "I miss them," he whispered.

Then he looked up sharply, wondering what the boy would think of this sign of weakness. To his surprise, Yahiko's expression was very odd. Almost...lonely. "Sounds fun," he said in a low voice.

Kenji fidgeted, knowing that he _really_ needed to leave, thinking that he'd probably be catching his target at breakfast or something and would lose his chance to kill the guy without any witnesses around. "Hey," he suddenly said. "Stick around 'til I come back. Maybe we'll go...somewhere. You must be pretty bored around here, with nothing to do."

"I've got training," Yahiko answered, even as his eyes were growing large with pleased surprise. "But I'll be able to put it off once you get back."

Kenji suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and embarrassed, and a little bit happy. "See you later," he muttered, roughly tousling the boy's hair as he stalked past and headed for the stairs.

Yahiko stayed in the kitchen for a while, still fiddling with the empty chip bag and smiling at nothing.

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji had most of the rest of the day to himself after he had eliminated Hiwatari Kei. No one gave it a second thought when he let it be known that he and Yahiko were leaving to hang out, though he knew better than to ask for a car when he wasn't on business. He took the precaution of putting a bandage over his facial scars and altering his hairstyle, darkening it and tying it back in a braid; after that, he and his new companion were ready to go.

"...but I _do_ know what karaoke is! And a mall! I've even been to one, once," Yahiko complained at one point as they were changing trains, obviously embarrassed that he had had so little firsthand exposure to pop culture.

Kenji rolled his eyes, grinning. "Look, it's short for 'Dance Dance Revolution,' and you stomp on these arrows 'cause it's, like, a dancing video game."

"Sounds stupid."

"Yeah." But Kenji was eyeing him, and could see that the expression on Yahiko's face was more wistful than scornful. "Wanna try?"

"What? N--! ... They have DDR things at malls?"

"Sometimes."

Yahiko's eyes were wide and he kept very close to Kenji as they threaded their way through crowded corridors and past store after store after store. "People here are rich," he whispered.

"Most of them have jobs," Kenji grumbled, "unlike us...." He himself had a lot of money at the moment, having won it off Chou and Henya in a dice game, but he couldn't do that too often. He was going to have to pay Yahiko's way too, since the boy refused to pick pockets except on orders or for emergencies.

Yahiko loved the arcade. He tried hard to pretend that he only found it marginally cool, but his shining eyes gave him away, and for some reason the sight of it made Kenji happy. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he went back to Samurai Legend, which he was pleased to find still held his name ("KATANA") in the list of high scores, though it had drifted down to number ten. To his own shock, he beat his own previous record by about 10,000 points, placing him at number two this time (number one was obviously an automated, impossible-to-beat computer score). Maybe all that insane training had come in handy after all.

"Yo, Yahiko," he called. "The restrooms are right by the food court; I'll be back."

Yahiko grunted in acknowledgement, eyes still fixed to the screen in front of him. Kenji shook his head and left.

The crowded mall seemed light and open in comparison to the dim heat of the arcade. Kenji smiled a little as he fought through the crowds. It felt really good, just being able to hang out again like this. Yahiko wasn't exactly his first choice for company, although other than being way too small and young, the kid didn't make a bad friend. He had, Kenji supposed, been forced to grow up quickly, the way all dragons seemed to. _'All dragons except Ayame and Suzume.'_ They were the only ones he knew who had grown up in a real family, with people who loved them.

For a minute he thought about them, taught with mixed feelings, missing those sweet little girls and hating their parents and grieving for Megumi and Katana and wishing fiercely that--

_'I don't have time for this.'_ It was all over now, behind him. He had a new life now.

Kenji found that he had left the water running again, and that the sink was making desperate creaking noises under his grip, as he had been staring unseeing into the mirror for far too long. Some of the other people in the bathroom were giving him wary glances from the corners of their eyes. He forced himself to take a deep breath and relax his fingers, turn off the water, and reach to dry his hands.

The door opened. At first Kenji did not even spare more than the most cursory attention to it, because it had been opening and closing a lot. The new figure bumped past someone heading out, slowed down, paused by the row of sinks, stared.

Kenji's attention flared into alarm. Glaring, he turned to face the newcomer and opened his mouth; but then he forgot to say anything.

"T...Takani?" the boy said tentatively.

"...Niwa," Kenji whispered after a moment.

Niwa Daisuke had not changed a bit. A bit taller, perhaps, but that was all; he still had that same head of spiky hair, the same sweetly bewildered look and huge soft eyes. "T-Takani!"

Kenji quickly moved in close. "Shut up, will you?" he hissed. "I'm supposed to be dead."

"You're supposed to be--!" Daisuke broke off sheepishly. "Um...I...ah...."

Kenji sighed and gave in. "Is it just the other three out there?"

"Yes - well, now, that is. Er, Riku-san had to leave early." And then Daisuke smiled so brilliantly that Kenji felt a smile melting over his own face as well.

"New girlfriend?" he teased, and was surprised when Daisuke got only a little flustered. Apparently it was true.

"Yes," Daisuke whispered joyously.

"Huh. So life goes on." Which was a good thing, very good, though also a little bit sad.

"Eh?" Daisuke said in confusion.

Kenji shook his head. "Look, just...go warn Kimi and Kakeru to keep their mouths shut, and then I'll come out." There was no way he was going to be able to resist seeing them again.

"Okay!"

When he walked into the food court a few minutes later, he supposed that it could have been worse.

"KEN-CHAAAN!!!" Kimi came streaking towards him, her beautiful hair flying out behind her and smacking a few fortunate young men in the face as she passed. Then she was pouncing and her arms were coming around him and he had to put all this training to use in order not to fall over.

"Oof."

"You're so BAD!" Kimi screamed happily in his ear, squeezing him so that he couldn't breathe. "You haven't called me in AGES! How dare you treat your fiancée like that!"

It was their running joke, or at least, Kenji hoped it was a joke. In any case, hearing it reminded him yet again why there had been no way he could have resisted seeing them, knowing they were so close. Nostalgia lay heavy on his heart, bittersweet and precious.

"Kenj-- Ken!" Kakeru called over happily as the rest of them approached at a more respectable pace. So apparently Daisuke had followed instructions and told the others not to call Kenji by his old name. "Hey loser, so you _finally_ decided to stop by and visit your old pals?"

"Actually, it was an accident meeting up with you guys at all," Kenji confessed, making it sound like a joke, his eyes shining.

For a long moment they all just stood there and stared at each other, grinning their heads off - except Ootori Kyouya, who was scrutinizing Kenji very closely. The physical build, the hair, the bandaged left cheek. Kenji suddenly felt cold. Kyouya knew. Of all of them, Kyouya would be the one to guess. Kyouya's life was in danger. "Ootori," Kenji said, very quietly. "Don't ask. Don't say it."

"I figured I shouldn't," Kyouya returned smoothly, and Kenji relaxed a little. Kyouya was smart enough to guess the truth, and he was also smart enough to work through the implications.

"Don't say what?" Kimi pouted.

"That you're the most gorgeous girl in school and that I've got you in my arms at last." He suddenly pulled her head around and kissed her. It was so easy. He didn't even remember to be afraid. All those months of longing for her, of drinking in her beauty but being too terrified to approach her - suddenly, it all seemed so pointless. And it was so wonderful to have the confidence to kiss her at last.

Then Kenji suddenly realized that he was doing something very stupid and dangerous, so he quickly pulled back and smiled apologetically at Kimi's stunned expression, even as he savored the taste of her lingering on his lips. "Thanks, pretty girl. It'll be good to have something to remember you by." Then he turned away and walked past them, his heart pounding. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid, Takani...!'_

"OI!" Kakeru's shout was loud and indignant; the next moment he was flinging himself on Kenji's back like a monkey, sounding confused and glad and indignant all at once. "What's up with you?"

"I'm dead, remember?" Kenji said gently, trying to keep his voice low. The others had hurried to catch up, were crowding around him, their eyes full of joy and hurt and questions.

"Ken-chan kissed Kimi! Ken-chan loves Kimi!" she demanded, yanking at his arm, her eyes searching.

Kenji paused and smiled at her. "Dead boys don't date. But I've always thought you were gorgeous, Kimi-chan."

"That's because I _am_ gorgeous," she preened, then frowned. "But Kimi already knew that! What--?"

"I just wanted you to know," he told her, with finality.

She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"Tak-- I mean, Ken," Daisuke said, looking distressed. "Aren't you going to explain anything? I mean...."

"It's got to do with DASP," Kakeru said knowingly. "Am I right?"

"Most definitely," Kenji said in relief.

"CIA AGENT!"

"Nope. And you've guessed that one about eight times by now."

"Fine then! Ex-burger chef who murdered his cheating wife with a spatula!"

"You're getting close," Kenji snorted.

"I swear," Kakeru crowed, "I'm going to unlock the secret of DASP, even if I have to do it with my last breath!"

"That," Kyouya said quietly, looking bored, "would be a very unwise goal to pursue."

Dark And Sinister Past. Kakeru's nickname for what Kenji had kept refusing to tell them, the past experiences that had made him such a weird kid. Before, the old joke had been a form of protection for himself, a way to keep him from having to revisit those old memories until he was ready to tell them. He never had been. And now it didn't matter, because this time the protection was for them. They could not be allowed to know what he had become. It wasn't just that he was ashamed. There was the very real fact that no one could learn the identity of the new hitokiri, and live.

"Ken," Daisuke said slowly, "when you leave us today, are you going to disappear again?"

"Yeah. Ghosts aren't usually supposed to be wandering around outside hell, you know."

"Is it really hell, where you're from?" Kyouya asked in a murmur, and Kenji froze again.

"It...it's not so bad," he finally said.

Kyouya nodded. It gave Kenji a strange, glad, heartbreaking little feeling to realize that Kyouya, of all people, was worried about him.

"Kimi wishes _she_ had a DASP, too," she huffed. "It would be so much more _exciting_! I bet you don't even go to school anymore, Ken-chan!"

"Nope."

"Lucky!" Kakeru exclaimed. "What do you do all day, then? Shoot pool with the yakuza?"

"Maybe."

"There you are!" Everyone turned in surprise to find a small figure hurrying determinedly toward them through the crowds.

"Who's _that_?" Kimi asked, wrinkling her nose.

Kakeru snapped his fingers as if he had just made a realization. "That's it! You kidnap little kids and hold them for ransom, don't you!"

"No, I don't," Kenji replied, a little exasperated. All the happiness had drained out of him at the sight of Yahiko. Instead, he began to feel strongly how disconnected he had become from his old life, how the world that Daisuke and Kimi and Kakeru and Kyouya played in so obliviously was no longer his. He was a dragon, the only place he would ever belong was with other dragons, and it was so lonely but he was better at it than he had ever been at pretending to be a normal stupid human.

"Where'd you go?" Yahiko asked accusingly when he had reached them.

"I _told_ you where I went."

"Didn't think it'd take you twenty minutes."

"Guys," Kenji snapped, turning to his curious friends (former friends...), "this is Yahiko. I don't know his surname, because he probably doesn't have one."

"I do so! It's Myoujin!"

"Oh." Kenji paused thoughtfully.

"Hello, Myoujin-san," Kyouya said with cool politeness, frowning a little as he studied Yahiko's eyes.

_'Just stop, Ootori,'_ Kenji thought tiredly. _'You're too curious, and too smart, for your own good.'_

"Hiko-chan, you're not a very cute little boy," Kimi told him, poking at one of the dirty, haphazard spikes of the kid's hair. "Kimi thinks you should take a bath."

"Shut up! What do you know?" Yahiko cried frantically, looking as if she had hit him in the face. His desperate eyes met Kenji's, and Kenji understood. _"What are you doing with these people?"_ those eyes seemed to say. _"You're not one of them. They don't understand."_

_'I know,'_ Kenji thought.

Kakeru pointed eagerly. "Is HE part of DASP, Kenji? I mean, Ken?"

"It's...none of your business," Kenji said, starting to be afraid, backing up toward Yahiko. "Look, I have to go."

"Wait!" Daisuke cried desperately. "But you only just came back! Can't you...stay a little longer?"

Kenji narrowed his eyes, straightened up, planted his feet, and rested one hand on Yahiko's shoulder. "Takani Kenji is dead," he told them quietly, looking each of them in the face, one by one. "He's gone. You're never going to see him again. Just remember him with fondness and let him go." He stared hard at Kyouya, but Kyouya only gazed coolly back. "Today was an accident, and it's not going to happen again."

"What?" they cried indignantly, but at his glare they abruptly fell silent again.

"Good-bye." With Yahiko, he turned and started to walk away. Then he paused. Grudgingly, he looked back over his shoulder and muttered, "I was...glad to see you, though. Just this one last time."

Kyouya's voice was quiet, self-assured, warning. "It's not going to last, you know. Eventually the world is going to fall apart again. What are you going to do then, since you've cut off all other ties?"

Kenji shrugged. "If that happens--" He shook his head. "_When_ that happens, I doubt I'm going to be in a position to care either way." Then he gripped Yahiko's arm and vanished into the crowd.

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji could not get it out of his mind, the encounter with his old friends. When he and Yahiko got back home, he locked himself in his room and moped, thinking and remembering.

He missed them. He really did. Not just his friends; and not just Megumi and Katana either - _their_ loss had left a gaping wound in his heart that felt like it would never heal. He still grieved for them; it seemed like every single time he let his thoughts wander, he thought of them, even after all these months. But what Kenji also missed, with a different kind of ache, was his old life. Those few years of happiness, sandwiched like a dream between the nightmare he had been born into and the cold existence he lived now. He wanted it back again, badly - the chance to laugh freely, the lack of all but the most trivial obligations, to be able to pretend that he fit in with _normal_ people, to have someone there who would love and comfort him as if he was still a child.

Kenji could not stop thinking about it, even though it was all gone now. He had to put it all behind him; he could never go back, and he would only hurt himself by continuing to long for the past. Megumi and Katana were gone. He had bid his farewells to his friends. Maybe if...maybe if he severed the last link....

o.o.o.o.o

The man was, unsurprisingly, tricky to track down; it was close to nightfall by the time Kenji found him. The bar was dim and comfortably noisy as Kenji, shrouded in a floppy hat and long coat, made his way to the front counter.

"Need t' see some ID," the man there grunted, eyeing the boy's slight figure distrustfully.

Kenji pitched his voice with a tone of low confidence. "Just looking for my brother."

The man did not move, gazing silently with an unfriendly expression.

Kenji glanced out at the tables and was surprised at how quickly he located the tall, spiky-haired figure. "There," he said, jerking his head in indication. "That's him, the one in the white jacket."

The man snorted disbelievingly. "Sagara's little brother, my-- hey!"

Kenji, losing interest, dismissively moved away, heading to the table in the corner where the rowdy group had shoved the remains of their meal aside to make room for a dice game. Kenji paused silently behind his target, having arrived just when the dice were about to roll. In an instant's study, Kenji read the movement of the dice roller's hands. Then he leaned down and gently murmured into his target's ear. "Five-six, odd."

The white-clad shoulders stiffened, and in the next moment the dice came to rest: five and six.

"Yeah!"

"All right!"

Amidst the cheers and curses, the man in white spun in his chair to face the boy, his eyes wide with shock.

Kenji smiled. "Hello, Sano."

"_Kenji_!"

He winced. "Sano, don't say my name in publ-- Urk!"

Sagara Sanosuke had leaped to his feet and wrapped an arm around Kenji's neck in his idea of a hug. "Kenji! It's-- What the heck-- Is it really you?!" He whipped off the hat so as to better study the boy's face with delighted incredulity.

Kenji snatched the hat back and clamped it down firmly on his head. "Sano--"

"What happened to your face?" Sano demanded, fingers brushing against the edge of the large bandage on Kenji's left cheek as if he meant to tear it off. "And your hair, did you dye--?"

"Sano!" Kenji hurriedly caught the other's hand. "Hey, do you think we could talk outside?"

Sanosuke glanced back at the game, and at the slightly annoyed but increasingly curious faces of his friends. "Oi, this kid! He's my-- Well, he's.... Anyway, I haven't seen this punk in, what, two years? This is awesome!"

The men mumbled or called out greetings to "Little Brother-kun."

Kenji nodded to them, trying not to be rude even though his stomach was starting to churn. This had been a really stupid idea. He was gonna get it when he got home, unless he could do some good, fast talking. "Cool. See you guys around. Sano...?" He tugged at the man's sleeve, letting a little bit of his anxiousness leak into his expression.

Sanosuke smiled, threw an arm around his shoulders and steered him outside, past the grumpy-looking proprietor. "Let's go talk where we can hear each other without shouting, eh?"

When they had gotten to a corner of the building, in the dark away from any exits or views from the street, Sanosuke practically flung him against the wall and planted one hand beside Kenji's head as if for an interrogation, though he was still smiling. "Where've you _been_? How's life been treating you? What's up with your face? How's the vixen doing?"

Kenji's throat caught, so that he had to clear it before he could speak. "Sano...it's really good to see you," he finally managed.

"Hmph." Sanosuke crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall next to Kenji. "Good to see you too, kid; though I hope you aren't gonna bum a place to crash again."

Kenji shook his head. "No, I have a...I've got a place to stay." Home had been a dream, gone with the rest of his old life. He would never be Home again, and he had already made his peace with that.

"Just a visit, eh? Sorry I forgot to tell you when my number changed - oh yeah, I _couldn't_, 'cause you guys had up and fallen off the face of the earth." There was a question in his voice.

"Megumi and I...had to lay low for a while," Kenji mumbled. "...I'm sorry." He flinched, then relaxed when Sanosuke's hand came out of the darkness to rest on his shoulder.

"No problem, kid."

Kenji smiled. "Sano...I've really missed you."

"You keep saying that." Sanosuke moved to face him again, his tone serious. "You never really answered my questions. How are you? How's your mom?"

Kenji pondered how much to tell him. "I...I'm doing all right, Sano. Megumi...." Very carefully, he drew in a breath, and let it out. "She's in a good place now." He hoped so. He desperately hoped so.

"Hm." Sanosuke reached for Kenji's face again, holding his head, one thumb across the bandage. Kenji tensed. "And this?"

"...Cut myself. On accident. Uh, shaving."

He wrinkled his nose at Sanosuke's sudden burst of laughter. "_Shaving_! Yeah right."

"Whatever," Kenji sulked. "It was an accident."

The laughter died away, and there was a very, very uncomfortable pause.

"A cross-shaped accident, maybe?"

Kenji swallowed. His words were frozen.

Finally Sanosuke moved in close; his voice now was low and urgent. "It's you, isn't it. Who they've been talking about in the news. Kenji. You're _killing_ people."

"Sano," he whispered. "I've...I've got...a new life now."

Sanosuke swore and spun away. Paced back and forth a few times; came back. "Kenji. What the _he_--"

"I shouldn't have come to see you."

Sanosuke paused.

"Now I've put you in danger. It was bad enough, running into my old friends on accident; but you...I _sought you out_...." Kenji swallowed a sudden sob. "I missed you, Sano."

"Kenji?"

"Megumi's dead."

Silence.

"I never told you anything about my past, Sano. I'm a dragon."

Still nothing.

Kenji finally managed a weak little laugh. "You remember _Sleeping Beauty_? That stupid movie-- It was because of the dragon. I loved it. When Prince Philip killed the dragon. Plunged that sword into its effin' heart; hurled it over the cliff, squashed it to a pulp." He suddenly sighed, and shook his head. "Sano, I was born a dragon, I was born a monster; now I'm a murderer, and it suits me perfectly. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come to see you. I--"

"You killed her?"

Chills came over him. "No! Someone else did. Someone killed her to get to me." Kenji was shaking his head hard. "Look, Sano, it's too much to explain; but, I - I'm not human. I'm _not_. Megumi--" His voice caught again, and he made an angry little scream trying to clear his throat, his hurt and fury and desperation straining to get out. "_Megumi_ tried to teach me how to be a human, but it didn't work, they came back for me, they killed her and got me back again, and my new master has taught me the true art of the sword, and I know now what I was meant to do with my life, Sano."

Sanosuke made a soft, horrified noise. "Kenji." Unexpectedly, his hands came out of the darkness to grip the boy's shoulders.

Kenji struggled, sudden fear bursting up in him, reaching for his sword and terrified when he remembered that he had left it behind. "Let go of me!" He wrenched free even as Sanosuke called his name again.

"Kenji!"

Kenji backed up a few steps, breathing hard. "I've probably ruined it for you; I was an _idiot_ to come here. I can tell Shishou that I was considering you as an ally, that you're strong and a good fighter. But then they'll probably come for you, and I know you'll never go for it, Sano. You like to fight, but you're not a killer like me. You're not a thug, you have--" He laughed hollowly, helplessly. "I dunno; you have _morals_, or something. I doubt you'd let Shishou recruit you. I screwed up, Sano. You'll have to leave. Go into hiding for a year or two. I'm sorry."

"Kenji."

Silence.

Then Sanosuke cursed. "You idiot! All this time, I never knew...."

"I'm sorry." He took another step back, intending to melt into the shadows.

"Don't you dare go melting into the shadows yet, punk."

Kenji stopped, startled. "What?"

Sanosuke stepped up close again. "Kenji."

"You keep saying my name," he said, irritation beginning to creep in. "What do you want? I can't fix any of my mistakes, Sano. I _can't_."

"Why are you doing it?" Sanosuke asked softly.

Kenji blinked. "What?"

"Kid. I lived with you for a year. I may not've known a single effin' thing about you, but I know _you_. Why are you letting them do this to you?"

Kenji was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, he was trembling with rage. "Why - am I - _letting_ them do this to me?"

"Megumi's dead, so you say. Is there some other hostage? Some other hold they have on you?"

"What are you _talking_ about? It's not like that, Sano! You idiot-- fine, I'll explain; you're already deep enough in it, anyway. I have no home, no family. It's all gone. I have a master; he taught me everything I know. I've always loved the sword, Sano; now I get to wield it. It's - fate. The only thing about my life that feels like fate; the sword, feeling the handle of that blade in my hands, making that blade sing. _That's what I was born for._ Shishou's taught me far more than I ever could have learned in that human dream-life. I have no reason to say no, when he asks me to run his errands."

"_Errands_--!"

The outburst was explosive, but Kenji simply talked over it, so that Sanosuke was forced to shut up again in order to hear him. "We all owe our lives to Shishou, for one reason or another. We have no reason to leave him, no reason to rebel against him; every reason to serve him. He's fighting for our people." It suddenly sounded stupid, saying it; 'our people,' as if that pack of wary, hostile, lonely fighters was some sort of chosen race; but he plowed on, because matters like that didn't really concern him.

"He's fighting for a better world for us," Kenji continued. A world where we, so much more powerful than you humans--" 'You humans,' as if Sano, as if Megumi or Saitou, as if people like them were some sort of lower life form...? "--Where we're the ones who are on top, as we should be; where we're not hated and hunted. Shishou knows what he's doing. We trust him, we believe in him. Sano, I'm hap--"

It was a lie, he was not happy at all.

"I'm fine, Sano. That's the world for me, where I belong. I have food, a place to sleep. No one chains me. No one hurts me; if they try, now I can fight back. It's good, Sano. I'm not a prisoner anymore." It felt strange, having said it aloud like that to someone like Sanosuke. An outsider. It felt...strange. Kenji shifted uneasily. There was a very long silence, and he finally considered melting into the shadows again.

Sano finally spoke. "K'so."

Kenji smiled a little. "We live in different worlds now, Sano." He sighed. "I'm sorry. For everything. Hopefully I'll never see you again."

Sanosuke slowly moved forward to rest his hands on Kenji's shoulders. "They've brainwashed you good, haven't they."

"?!"

Sano cursed again, and again. "I can't _believe_ I didn't know. I can't _believe_ it."

Kenji frowned in confusion. "What are you--?"

"_Sleeping Beauty_, for crying out loud. Your frickin' broken-glass _eyes_. I should have _asked_, I should have at least _thought_ about it...." He cursed again, and took his hands away. "I refuse to be too late, kid." His gaze was steadier now, hard, stubborn like the idiot he was.

"Look, I'd better go--"

"Wait." Sanosuke felt around in his pockets, pulled out a stub of pencil and a gum wrapper, and scribbled on it blindly in the dark. He pressed the wrapper into Kenji's hand. "My cell number."

"I'm going to throw it away."

"Don't throw it away, punk."

Kenji paused. "I'm not going to leave my master."

Sanosuke's voice was frustrated. "Kenji, I'm going to get you out of there. I'm going to get you _out_."

"You'd be an idiot to try. I'm going to do what I can from my end to keep you safe, but if you go walking into trouble, it's not my fault."

"Kid, you are so deep in it. You are _deep_, _in it_."

Kenji was starting to get annoyed. "Look, I just told you; it's not bad. I'm fine. Compared to what I'd come out of before I met you, before I met Megumi--"

Sanosuke's hand, still lightly grasping his, suddenly tightened. "Where'd you come from, Kenji? How did you get _born_ as a dragon?"

Kenji wrenched away. His breath was coming hard, his back starting to ache with a phantom pain. "I'm going now."

Sanosuke cursed, knowing he was unable to stop Kenji as the boy vanished into the darkness, furious at the stupidity of his past self for not realizing what he now thought should have been obvious.

o.o.o.o.o

Kenji waited in tense silence, watching his master. Shishio continued to lean back in the swivel chair, eyes gazing casually at the computer screen, one hand idly grasping the handle of a half-full mug of tea.

Finally the man closed his eyes and sighed, took another sip of the drink, carefully set the cup down, then swirled slowly to face his nervous young apprentice. "I see."

Kenji swallowed, as discreetly as possible. His master still looked casual, almost bored, but that meant nothing.

To his relief, Shishio merely nodded and then reached for one of the files lying beside the computer, which he held out to Kenji. The boy accepted it respectfully. "Next assignment?"

"Mm."

Kenji opened the folder, caught sight of the photograph of his next target, and froze.

"Something wrong?"

"N...No, sir." Kenji continued to stare at the photo. He had never killed a woman before. He knew that the others had, though they never spoke as if it was any different from killing men; but Kenji himself had never been given an assignment like this until now.

"Good. You have three days."

Kenji very carefully closed the folder. It was a test of loyalty, he realized. To make sure that today's foolish visits to the past had not dulled his sword. This woman's life was going to be the price for their safety, Sano and Daisuke and the others. Very well, then; the choice was clear.

Kenji lifted his head and smiled. "Got it."

Shishio smiled back. His tone was an undisguised mockery of fatherly affection, but somehow it made Kenji stiffen with pride all the same. "That's my boy."

o.o.o.o.o

The next day Kenji washed the dark dye out of his hair and went to work, scoping out his new assignment, studying her home, the building where she worked, her route between the two, and any potentially helpful habits she might have. At first, the sight of her family made him uncomfortable, a husband who laughed too loudly at his own stupid jokes, even when no one else did; two kids, a bratty girl who went to some sort of elite elementary school, and a happy, burbling, but ugly two-year-old. Perched outside, Kenji watched them together at dinner for a while, his heart aching.

Then he frowned, and sudden anger washed out all the pain. This woman didn't deserve to have a family, even one as stupid as this. She was going to die soon; why had she bothered to make these kids when they were just going to lose her?

Why did anyone go in for this? Didn't people realize how perilous life was, how easy it was for someone to just disappear, cease to exist, in the blink of an eye? Why did anyone go through the trouble of trying to love another person, when all it did was cause pain and create weaknesses?

_'Megumi,'_ he wondered, _'why did you love me?'_ She hadn't even given birth to him. She'd just taken him home, a wild half-grown monster, for what was supposed to be one night, because no one else would. For some reason she had not kicked him out, even when she saw how much work it was going to take to look after him. She had endured his rejection and insults, for some reason she had kept...for some reason she was still nice to him, even when he had _tried_ to push her away.

_'See where it got you, Megumi?'_ Dead. Dead, dead, dead, just like this stupid lady was going to be.

_'I hurt her so much.'_ He couldn't tell whether the thought had come first or the tears, but either way it made him even angrier, and he pulled out a knife and jammed it into the flesh of the tree beside him. He looked back at his target and felt his lips stretching into a smile. "You are so dead, lady," he whispered. "You are so dead."

o.o.o.o.o

When he got back, he passed Chou training among the trees, and meant to simply continue on without acknowledgment.

"Oi - it's the Himura kid! Hey, Himura, train with me; I'm bored."

"Don't call me Himura," Kenji snapped automatically, and kept walking.

A branch nearly over his head suddenly seemed to explode into twigs and came raining down at his feet. Kenji turned in annoyance, to find Chou grinning invitingly. "See, this is why I don't like training with you, Broom-head; 'cause you've got all those stupid trick swords."

The flame-haired warrior's grin faded. "Oi," he warned, "lay off my swords, or you're gonna get it, Kitten."

Kenji snarled; he _hated_ the nickname, which referred to his childish cutesey looks and further implied that he was weak and helpless - though he supposed he might have invited it, by pulling out the 'Broom-head' comment. "Why should I? You fight like a magician, Chou; once someone upends your bag of tricks, you get as predictable as a thug swinging a club."

Chou had by now very definitely picked up the boy's bad mood, and their duel was one of the less friendly ones. In the end, however, Kenji did spare the other's life, and determinedly did not try to decide whether he had pulled his punches because he would get in trouble for damaging one of the remaining Juppongatana, or because he had simply felt bad for taking out his feelings on a fr-- on someone who had nothing to do with the situation.

"You're still a baby-faced mutant!" Chou yelled sulkily after him. Kenji raised a hand in acknowledgment, not slowing his stride or glancing back.

He did the same when he passed Yumi in the hall and she took one look at him, wrinkled her nose, and said, "Ew."

"Sorry," he murmured instead, "you've got me confused with your boyfriend."

"You want poison in your tea tonight?" she growled.

"No thanks, I'll pass." He came limping into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, pulled out the remaining half of the cooked chicken Kamatari had brought home from the last shopping trip, and fell on it ravenously.

Yahiko, who had made a fort out of Cheerios and was now eating them one by one, wrinkled his nose at the wet red footprints that Kenji had tracked into the room. "Dude, this is the _kitchen_. Wash up first, will ya?"

"Starving," Kenji mumbled through his current mouthful of meat.

"...You get hurt on assignment?" Yahiko asked uneasily after a moment.

Kenji swallowed the food, then went to rummage around for juice, any kind of juice. "No. Chou."

Yahiko swore softly, though he was grinning a little. "He's got to look worse than you, then. Shishio's gonna be mad."

"Chou asked for it," Kenji muttered. He practically upended the orange juice carton into his mouth, gulped several times, then slammed it onto the counter and forcefully expelled a breath of air. "Actually, he didn't. I picked a fight. I'm in a rotten mood."

"Obviously," Yahiko said under his breath. He sighed and then looked back up hopefully. "Wanna blow off steam at the arcade again?"

"No. If I hang around you, I'll bite your head off. I'm gonna go take a bath." Kenji crushed the empty juice carton with more force than was necessary and slung it into the trash can before trudging out of the room.

Yahiko paused. People usually didn't worry about whether or not they were going to bite his head off.

Fighting off both sudden stinging tears and a doofy smile, the boy looked back at the bloody footprints and went to fetch a towel and some antiseptic.

o.o.o.o.o

It was quiet, here in the woods at twilight. The day's heat had not quite dissipated; Kenji felt his still-damp hair sticking unpleasantly to the back of his neck. "Anji, I'm going to use your punching bag."

The fallen priest slitted open his darkened eyes and surveyed the intruder. His annoyance melted at the sight of Himura Kenji's frustrated expression and the hurt, lost look in his eyes. He was careful not to smile. It was bad enough that he still apparently had a soft spot for children; it wouldn't do at all to reveal the fact. "Come sit down. Cross your legs and try to still your mind."

Kenji swore, but came over quite willingly. "I'm not into meditation," he seemed to feel obliged to point out as he arranged himself in the same position Anji was in, facing him.

"Fallen priests don't meditate." Anji raised his sword and drove it into the ground. The stones that encircled him exploded.

Slowly, a genuine smile touched Kenji's lips, and he shook his head in admiration. "Cool."

o.o.o.o.o

Akira was asleep. Tomoe was curled up beside him, trying to lose herself in Jane Austen to keep the constant worry at bay. It was a different kind of fiction than she ought to be reading, for it was more important to study the modern, realistic stories that had been helping her grow accustomed to this strange new world for the past seven years. Yet something about the elegant, old-fashioned prose, the well-ordered and quiet society that was laid out in the pages of this story written by an eighteenth-century British woman.... Tomoe found it soothing, despite its strangeness.

There was a knock at the door, and she sat straight up in bed, gripping the book hard before deliberately relaxing. She laid it on the nightstand and got out of bed, going to open the door before her husband was disturbed.

"...Hello, Sis."

"Hello, Enishi," she said quietly. Her heart ached to see him. The expression on his face was soft, uncertain; for a moment he looked again like the little boy she had loved so long ago.

"...You didn't eat dinner again, did you."

Tomoe sighed, so quietly that it made almost no sound. "I am not hungry."

His hands reached for her; she forced herself to be still. His fingers came to rest gently on either side of her face, caressing a little, carefully, as if he was afraid of breaking her. "You have to...keep your strength up. You-- You can't give up, Sis! You have to keep waiting for me."

Her heart softened a little, and she reached out affectionately to smooth back a few stray strands of hair. "I have not given up, Enishi."

He smiled, a genuinely sweet smile that made her feel like her heart was breaking. "Good. Come eat with me?"

She forced herself not to glance back longingly at Akira. "Very well."

They took their meal up to eat outside, so that she could see the stars, so that he could feel the wind whisper around them. She felt, suddenly, very unsafe to be alone with him; and it hurt her that she should be so frightened of the little brother she had once loved dearly. "Enishi?"

"Mm?" He was gazing up at the sky.

"I...It pains me, when I see you hurting things that are weaker than yourself. I...wondered...."

He moved his gaze down to her, and she caught her breath. However he merely smiled and said, "You always were squeamish like that, Sis."

She closed her eyes briefly. "I just thought...perhaps there is some way I could make you see that you don't need to hurt others."

He pulled forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Come on, Sis; it's not like I hurt things just for the fun of it. I know you don't approve. But sometimes - I mean, obviously, animals usually aren't _cooperative_. People used to 'break' horses in order to ride them; if you've got a rebellious dog, you beat it 'til it does what you want. Right?"

She was trembling a little. She knew that that's what it was, that to him, dragons weren't _people_ at all. The implications of that chilled her, and she could not bring herself to continue. "You are more ruthless than I would wish," was all she managed to whisper.

He smiled placatingly and leaned toward her. "I know. I'm sorry, Sis. I know you don't like it. Once I get you back to normal, I'll try to stop. I don't care about dragons anyway, as long as you're safe; Shishio and them can do what they want, I don't care. As long as you're safe."

She swallowed. "I understand."

He lay down with his head close to her knees and was silent for a while. Hoping to keep him in a good mood, she reached to stroke his hair, noting how he cringed at her touch before submitting to it. Eventually he made a remark about one of the constellations, and she answered, glad to talk about something different for a while. Their conversation was slow and muted; both of them seemed to be half-listening to the sounds of the night as well as to each other.

Slowly, the sky changed. Enishi was sitting up again, staring into the remains of his drink as he restlessly twirled the cup around and around. Finally, when her courage had returned, Tomoe took a deep breath and spoke. "Enishi...I never understood. You've lived for so long, and yet you are not a dragon." She did not miss the tiny shudder of disgust that tremored over him at the suggestion. "How, Enishi?"

He fiddled with his glass, looking lost in thought. "Hmph. Found some old notes, long time ago; almost at the beginning. Took me a while to figure out how to do it, but I was finally successful." He looked up at her and grinned. "I'm invincible, you know. Nothing can kill me." He shrugged one shoulder and added with an uneasy smile, "that is, only one thing can kill me, but I keep a very, very close eye on it. So you don't have to worry, Sis."

She stared at him. "Enishi, I don't understand. What notes? What did...what have you done to yourself?" When he had explained it to her, when she finally understood, her eyes widened. "But, Enishi - if that's true, then it means you are no more human than we dragons are!"

His reaction was so instantaneous that she had to time to prepare herself. The remains of their meal were scattered with the violence of his rising, and in the next second his hand was squeezed around her throat.

"Don't you dare," he said in a venomous whisper, "let any filthy lies like that pass your lips ever again."

She could not speak, her eyes huge with desperation as she clutched helplessly at his arms. Then, slowly, a change came over his face and he released her. She dropped back, coughing, tears of betrayal filling her eyes.

"Neesan, I...I'm sorry." When she did not answer, he knelt down so that he could look up into her face. His own eyes were wide, his expression distressed as he begged, "Please, Sis, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that sometimes...it's hard to remember, you know? That's it's _something else_ saying those horrible things, not you. I know you would never hurt me, Sis. I'm sorry it's taken me so long. Don't worry, I'll bring you back...I'll bring you back to me, I just need a little more time."

She was staring at him, feeling as if he had thrust a sword into her and cut open a gaping, streaming wound. "Enishi...who am I? Am I your sister?"

He took her hands, and after a long moment he said to them sadly, "My sister is dead. I miss her so much." His grip tightened. "But I _will_ get her back. I will get her back, or I will die trying." He glanced back up at her, grinning. "And I can't die anymore, you see?"

o.o.o.o.o

When Kenji got home from *Sohma Ren's* assassination some time between midnight and dawn, he flung off his clothes, scrubbed the blood off his flesh, and fell straight into bed. He awakened only a couple of hours later, gasping with horror, because in his nightmare he had thrust the sword into his target only to find that she had Megumi's face.

Shivering, he wrapped himself in a robe and tried to pick up his sword, but found that the touch of it repelled him. He pushed it away from him in anger and crept out alone, slipping almost invisibly through the halls until he got to the Kiyosatos' room. He tried to be silent, and yet a part of him must have been longing for human contact as well, for perhaps he made a bit more noise than was necessary. After he had curled up on the floor by the bed, he heard Tomoe's soft voice. "Kenji-kun?"

"Tomoe-nee," he whispered, disgusted with himself. "Just one more night. I won't do it again." They both knew it was a lie, because it was what he said every single time.

He felt her hand touch his hair, and he hid his face against his arm. Then she began to hum, so gently that Akira barely stirred beside her. Kenji did not know when she stopped, because by then he had fallen back into sleep, and this time there were no dreams at all.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: I am actually not going to explain Enishi's immortality in _The Lost Hatchling_. If you're familiar with Watsuki-sensei's Busou Renkin manga, you'll find out what Enishi did in the sequel that crosses over with that series; if not and you really want to know, shoot me a message.

Heh, and it's a similar case with Sleeping Beauty - that has some backstory to it, but I won't get to it until the prequel, which I'm sure I won't be able to post for quite a long time.

It has become my practice to borrow characters from other series when I need "extras." Niwa Daisuke is from _D.N. Angel_; Ootori Kyouya is from _Ouran High School Host Club_; and Kakeru and Kimi are from the _Fruits Basket_ manga. I did not realize until I was writing this chapter that when you add Kenji to the group, Daisuke is the only one with a name that doesn't start with K. *sweatdrop* Oh, and Hiwatari Kei is a minor character in _D.N. Angel_, and Mikage Kagami from chapter 3 was a villain in _Ayashi no Ceres_.


	5. Dinner at Saitô's

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 5 - Dinner at Saitô's **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

The arrest came at a bad time. Kaoru was gone; she and Kenshin had been taking turns going out to hunt for Enishi - it was too dangerous to take the girls with them, and even now neither of them was willing to leave the children in someone else's care. So when policemen appeared on the doorstep, speaking tersely of assassinations by a person who matched his description, Kenshin's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword - but he glanced back at the frightened girls and knew he was trapped. "It wasn't me," he said anyway, glaring at the police chief.

Saitô gazed back calmly, his stance relaxed though his eyes remained sharp. "Five killings in the last week, of key figures pertaining to anti-dragon legislation, despite security measures, done by a person who is very clearly and repeatedly described as a short male with long red hair, blue eyes, and a cross-shaped scar on the left cheek." He did not add the obvious conclusion.

"It wasn't me," Kenshin repeated stubbornly. He was successfully squashing down the sudden wild thoughts clamoring insistently at the back of his mind; this was _not_ the time for emotional, unfounded speculations.

"So you plan to resist?" Saitô murmured, almost idly.

"I will not leave my children."

"That is no longer something you have the right to decide."

Two of the men came toward him; the sakabatô flashed out of its sheath, but then Kenshin paused at the look in Saitô's eyes. He realized that if he lifted a hand against any of these men, whatever help he might be able to expect from their chief in the future would vanish.

The men, however, did not pick up on his hesitation; they shouted in warning and drew their guns.

The girls screamed and clung to him, and Kenshin could feel his eyes burn as they changed color. "Ayame, Suzume," he said, as soothingly as he could while keeping his eyes fixed on the police, "please let go." How could they realize that in their desperation for reassurance, they were making him helpless?

"Daddy," Ayame whimpered, "please...p-please...." She made an effort to loosen her fingers, but could not bring herself to let go completely; Suzume merely clung tighter.

"Think very carefully, Himura," Saitô murmured.

Kenshin didn't move. After what seemed an age, one of the men moved forward and very cautiously took the sword out of his hands and the sheath from his belt. The others quickly clustered around him, still gripping their guns warily. Kenshin _hated_ the sight of those weapons so close to his children.

He did not move until he saw the glint of handcuffs; then he blinked, and slowly knelt down by the girls. They instantly threw their arms around his neck. "Ayame-chan," he murmured softly, "Suzume-chan. Your mother will be back soon, all right? For now...I...." They peered up at him fearfully, and he almost couldn't continue. "You're going to have to be big girls now, and wait for her. All right? Can you be brave for me?"

Suzume's eyes filled with tears. "Yes, Daddy," Ayame whispered.

When Kenshin glanced back at the men, he was a little surprised to see that some of them looked uncomfortable. Not really caring about that at the moment, he murmured again to the girls, "You see that man in the doorway, with the long bangs? He's going to take care of you for a little while."

"What?" Saitô said sharply.

"You're going to go with him," Kenshin said, glaring meaningfully at the police chief, "and as long as he's in charge of you, you will be safe." The two men were glaring deeply into each other's eyes, until they almost reached the minds beneath.

_"You're out of your mind. I'm not a baby-sitter."_

_"I _thought_ I was out of my mind, to trust them with you - but the fire in your spirit. It is ruthless, cold, but pure. And you are strong. You have trapped me; there is no one else I can turn to."_

_"You're an idiot. Though...not a murderer, I'm almost certain. The fire in _your_ spirit balks at shedding blood lightly. There is, after all, another possibility - though it makes no difference at the moment, I'm still going to arrest you. However...."_

_"I trust you."_

_"I believe you."_

"I need a cigarette," Saitô muttered aloud.

"Daddy," Ayame whispered, "he looks scary."

He turned back to her. "Do I look scary sometimes?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she answered in a small voice.

"Have I ever hurt you?"

"No."

He kissed them gently, then stood and led them to Saitô, who scowled. "Go. It'll be all right."

Saitô rolled his eyes. "Come on, then." He swept out, and after a moment, nudged by their father, the girls shuffled after him. They kept turning to look back at Kenshin, so that it seemed a very long time before they reached the car beside which Saitô was impatiently waiting. Kenshin was successful in keeping the smile on his face until the car had driven out of sight. Then he let it drop and did not think about anything as the rest of the police moved in.

o.o.o.o.o

Sôjirô did not approach right away. He stood in the doorway for a while, looking at the slight figure hunched on the crumbling porch steps. It was Himura Kenji, his sword tucked into the crook of one arm as he gazed out at the trees.

Sôjirô had been teased (mostly by Chou) about the boy having become Shishio-sama's new favorite, but Sôjirô was not bothered. He knew that their positions were quite different, even if they seemed similar at first glance. True, the other boy had been hidden away for months, and had emerged as a trained killer, now frequently sent on oddly public assignments. The frightened, angry, helpless child was gone; here was now a scowling young man who mostly kept to himself except for the small circle of those he apparently trusted, those who were not afraid of him. The first day Kenji had emerged from his initiation and come among them as a fellow warrior, someone, one of the dragons not numbered among the Juppongatana, had made the fatal mistake of trying to bully him a bit. An instant later the man's head had gone flying, and less than a handful of those watching were alert enough to notice a flicker of the boy's hand as he calmly finished re-sheathing his sword, or the faint click as the blade settled back into place. Only Sôjirô had noticed the momentary pause afterwards - a brief uneasiness that was gone in the next eyeblink. Cool as the boy seemed on the outside, he did not have Sôjirô's emotionless smile.

Still, the boy was a prodigy - to have come so far in only a few months, to kill so cold-heartedly, to fight off the retaliatory horde afterwards without taking any significant damage, to be able to defeat some members of the Juppongatana themselves in one-on-one friendly duels, even with difficulty...surely Himura Kenji's bloodline was clear. It was obvious why Shishio-sama found him valuable. True, his body was damaged, though not to the extent that Shishio's was; and if his skill ever passed Shishio's own, he would not be allowed to live, as Sôjirô well knew. However, locked within Himura Kenji's genes was the key to developing a perfect superhuman specimen. _'Which Himura-san might not survive anyway,'_ Sôjirô mused thoughtfully.

"Oi." Kenji's tense, irritated voice broke the silence. "I'm not an animal in a zoo, you know. Go stare at someone else."

"Sorry," Sôjirô laughed, coming out at last. He paused beside the boy, so that they were both looking out at the same view. "Pretty, isn't it?" Sôjirô observed after a minute.

"Yeah," Kenji murmured, frowning. "It's...getting harder and harder to find places that aren't paved over and stuffed with cars. Geez, no wonder the real dragons died out."

"They were weak," Sôjirô pointed out cheerfully. "If they had been strong, they would have survived."

Kenji looked up, frowning, and opened his mouth to speak. Yet the words did not come, and a frustrated expression crossed his face. Finally he said, "Yeah, but...I dunno...it's a shame."

Sôjirô arched an eyebrow. "Is it? The dragons of old were simply beasts, after all. It is _we_ who are the powerful ones, taking the strength of dragons and the strength of humans, and casting off the weaknesses of both."

"Yeah," Kenji mumbled. Then he frowned again and glanced at his companion. "Did you come for something in particular?"

"Oh!" Sôjirô laughed, "I almost forgot that I meant to tell you something. Did you know, Kenji-san, that your father was arrested this morning?"

"Huh?" Kenji scrambled to his feet. "Really?"

"It's true. He has been arrested for the murders of Mikage Kagami, Hiwatari Kei, and several others."

"Mikage?" Kenji said in confusion. "Hiwatari? But they're--" He suddenly stopped, his mouth open in surprise. "They think _he_ killed them!" He closed his eyes and burst into laughter. Sôjirô watched, smiling. "Oh, that's _hilarious_! They think...." After a while, when he was able to bring the mirth and hatred and delight and fury until control, he looked up again. "Seta-kun, where are they keeping him?"

Sôjirô smiled.

o.o.o.o.o

"These are a lot of stairs," Ayame said unhappily. "Mr. Saitô, will you carry me?"

"I want Mommy and Daddy!" Suzume burst out, "and I have to go pee pee!" She burst into tears and plopped down, wailing.

Saitô could feel a vein throbbing in his temple as he looked down at them. _'Himura, I will kill you.'_ "It's just a little farther," he said shortly. "Tell your sister we're almost there."

"You're not going to pick me up?" Ayame said incredulously.

"You're a big girl," he snapped. "You can handle it."

"Mr. Saitô," Ayame said slowly, staring up at him in disappointment, "Daddy said that you're nice, even though you look scary, but you're not being very nice."

"Your father," Saitô informed her coldly, "said nothing of the kind. He said I won't hurt you, which I won't, and he said I will protect you, which I will. Now bring your sister; that noise is irritating me." He turned back and continued up the steps.

Ayame looked after him for a moment, nodded to herself as if she understood something, then bent down to her sister. "Suzume, come on. He's leaving us behind." Suzume gasped and scrambled to her feet, then clambered frantically after Saitô and clamped her arms around his leg. "Please don't leave! Please don't leave! Please don't leave!"

Saitô successfully resisted a sudden urge to slap her. "I'm _not_," he snapped. "Look, that green door with the number 304 on it. That's where we're going." Suzume immediately ran up the rest of the steps, reached the door he had pointed at, and began banging on it with all the strength of her fists. "Help! Help! Help!" she screamed. "HELP ME!"

"Be quiet!" Saitô barked, which only set her off wailing all the louder. The door was opened very suddenly by a frightened-looking woman. Suzume stared up at her, open-mouthed and petrified. The woman took one look and held out her arms, her expression dissolving into compassion. "Oh, you poor thing."

Suzume threw herself into the woman's arms and sobbed in heartbroken gratitude. "I want my mommy...I want my mommy...I want my daddy...."

"Tokio," Saitô said in annoyance as he approached with Ayame, "you know better than to just open the door like that."

"I'm not going to waste time when I hear a frightened child screaming," she said comfortably, rocking the girl soothingly in her arms.

"So all an enemy has to do," he said pointedly, "is to plant a screaming child in front of the door and wait for you to walk right into the trap."

"Oh, but _you_ won't let anything bad happen to me, will you, Hajime-san?" she said, beaming up at him.

"Um...ma'am?" Ayame asked timidly. "Are you Mr. Saitô's wife?"

"Yes, dear, I am."

"Oh." Ayame smiled a little sheepishly. "I think you must be a bodhisattva."

Tokio's eyes widened, and then she burst into laughter. "I get that a lot," she said cheerfully, and laughed again at the look on her husband's face.

"Geez, what's all the noise about?" A young spiky-haired boy had joined them, looking distrustfully at the girls.

"Himura Ayame," Saitô grunted in introduction, "and Himura Suzume. They'll be staying here for a few hours."

"Oh, good," Tokio said, standing up with Suzume still in her arms. "So we'll have you for dinner! Won't that be nice, Eiji-chan?"

"I don't care, and don't call me '-chan.' I've _told_ you." The boy stalked back inside and resumed a video game, then was disconcerted a few minutes later to find that Ayame had followed him. "What do you want?" he asked uncomfortably.

"Can I play?" Ayame asked cautiously.

"It's a fighting game. You won't like it."

Ayame's head came up. "I played those before," she said haughtily. "You hit all the buttons, and the people on TV punch each other."

Eiji growled. "I will _not_ play with a button-masher!"

Meanwhile, Tokio was showing Suzume where the bathroom was. "Will you stay with me?" the girl asked tearfully.

Tokio laughed in surprise. "Oh darling, you're a big girl, I'm sure you can manage it yourself."

"No!" she insisted frantically. "You have to watch and make sure no bad people come through the window!"

Tokio's laughter died away when she saw the genuine terror in the child's eyes. "No one will hurt you, sweetheart," she said gently.

Later, as Tokio was cooking, her husband leaned back against the counter beside her, watching Eiji and the girls arguing playfully in the living room. "This is getting ridiculous. First the boy, who was only supposed to be here until a foster home opened up. Now _this_."

"Oh, it's not so bad," Tokio murmured, eyes on her work. "I confess, Hajime-san...it pleases me very much to have children in the house." She paused deliberately, and from the set of his shoulders she knew that he anticipated what she was about to say. "It makes me wish we could have a child of our own."

"We've discussed this," he said brusquely, eyes still focused across the room.

"Not even to please me?" she said softly. "Not even if I promised you wouldn't have to lift a finger?"

"That's not the issue. Children are a liability." Finally he turned his cold gaze to her. "You know that there might very well come a time when I would have to choose between the safety of my child and the truth I fight for. Himura faces that choice now. If it was me, I would not spare even my own child...which I'm certain you would find upsetting."

Tokio gazed at him, wondering if he realized he was lying. "Since when," she said, carefully provocative, "have you cared about causing me heartache?" They locked eyes for a long time. Then he glanced away. "Fine. If it's all the same to you."

She knew better than to smile over her victory. Pretending to need the salt, she reached across his stomach for it and slipped her hand under the hem of his untucked shirt as she did so, letting her fingers trail along the skin of his belly. "Shall we start tonight, then?" she suggested casually.

"Only if you drug the boy."

"Hajime-san!" she laughed, hoping he was joking.

The children argued no less when they were actually eating dinner, though Eiji was the only one who seemed to be getting worked up - the girls appeared to be under the impression that he was their new honorary brother. Saitô finally got fed up and sternly put an end to it, which had the unfortunate side-effect of frightening Suzume to tears. Tokio was hard-put to keep the overall atmosphere cheerful, but enjoyed every minute of it. _'This house will be a good one for children,'_ she thought, watching Ayame patting her sister's head and Saitô inconspicuously pushing the plate of dessert closer to Suzume's side of the table.

Afterwards, Tokio happily curled up on the sofa with the three children to watch TV, as Saitô lounged in the easy chair and worked on his laptop. At one point he got up to use the restroom. When he finished, he opened the door again and froze when he found himself confronted with two pairs of small, anxious eyes.

"What," he said in a very low voice, "are you doing?" The fact that anyone, much less two young girls, had _stood outside the bathroom waiting for him_ was making him feel violent.

"You're supposed to protect us," Ayame said accusingly.

"What if bad people come when you're going potty?" Suzume quavered.

Very slowly, Saitô lifted murderous eyes to Tokio, who was watching from down the hallway and obviously trying not to laugh. "They're only children," she reminded him soothingly. "They've been through a lot."

Saitô looked back at the girls. "Do you wait outside the bathroom door at home, too?" he growled.

"No," Ayame said, chewing her lip. "I don't think Daddy goes potty when Mommy is gone."

_'Himura, I will torture you first, and _then_ kill you.'_

The apartment suddenly seemed to shake with the thudding sound of feet coming rapidly up the stairs. Saitô was already striding forward before the heavy pounding on the door started; Eiji hurried to Tokio, who was trying to pull the petrified girls out of the living room.

Then the shouting began. _"Saitô Hajime! I know you're in there! Open this door RIGHT NOW and give me my children, before I roast you!"_

"It's Mommy!" the girls shrieked in frantic relief. "Mommy! Mommy!"

_"Ayame-chan! Suzume-chan!"_

Saitô was maddeningly unhurried as he verified Kaoru's identity and ensured that she had come alone before he finally allowed her entrance. At any other time, Kaoru would have (foolishly) attempted to beat him up, but at this particular moment nothing could have stopped her from dropping to her knees and flinging her arms around her daughters.

The three of them cried and clung to each other for a long time. Saitô, rolling his eyes, stepped outside to make sure Kaoru had not been followed. Eiji watched the reunited mother and children with a dark expression until Tokio compassionately tried to put an arm around him; he shook her off and stormed away to his room.

When Kaoru could speak again, she made anxious inquiries and searched their faces, looking for signs of hurt, but there was nothing but joy at seeing her again. "Mommy?" Ayame asked urgently, "is Daddy okay?"

Kaoru paused, then decided to not frighten the girls. She made herself smile. "He's fine, sweetheart. He...he's going to be away for a little while - you're going to stay with me, okay?"

They were staring at her. "Without Daddy?" Suzume whispered.

"We'll be all right," Kaoru quickly assured her. "Daddy just...has some work to do. It will be all right, he's strong." The girls pressed against her silently, and Kaoru glared up at Saitô. All she said aloud, however, was, "I'm going to take the girls home now. I'll call you later."

"Looking forward to it," he said sourly.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: The unplanned comic relief chapter. It was SO FUN to write Saitô's interaction with small children. XD

I usually don't like the Saitô/Tokio pairing in fandom and didn't think I could pull it off. To my shock, from the moment Tokio flung open the door for Suzume, she made me feel as if I've known her for ages. I really enjoyed writing her as Saitô's wife. **Please let me know what you think about how I wrote the Saitô/Tokio pairing, since it's the first time I've tried it.**


	6. Revenge

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 6 - Revenge **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

Kenshin was not sure what had awakened him. He was not even aware that he had fallen asleep, but he opened his eyes and knew that someone was watching him with hatred. He was on his feet at once, hand at his hip before he remembered that his sword was gone.

Golden eyes were glowing in the darkness. Kenshin stared, not realizing what he was seeing for a minute, and then a shiver went down his spine. "Who are you?" he whispered.

There was a glint of teeth - a smile? Then a soft voice drifted ominously through the darkness. "I am Battousai."

His flesh creeping, Kenshin edged forward and nearly froze again at what he saw. A ghost from the past, himself, dressed in the same clothes as that never-forgotten hitokiri, the same scar, the same hair....

It was an effort to come back to reality, but when he did, Kenshin felt like he had lost his breath all at once. This was no supernatural apparition. _"Kenji."_

Alarmed, the boy backed away when Kenshin was suddenly as close as he could get, stretching his arms desperately through the bars. "Kenji!"

"Don't touch me," the young assassin snapped.

"Kenji...please...we thought you were dead. _Please_."

"I don't see why you should have lost any sleep over that," Kenji said coolly. As Kenshin stared at him, speechless, Kenji said slowly, "I came here to kill you, I think. I thought...it was so convenient, you getting locked up-- I wanted to look at you." He paused. "You're actually pretty pathetic. I..." He hadn't expected that. He had expected the cold warrior of that night, not this desperate, wide-eyed figure, so slight and shabby-looking. "I'm pretty disappointed, actually."

"Will you come back to us?" Kenshin whispered. "We don't care, Kenji - it doesn't matter what happened to you, or what you've done. We want you back. Please. Go to the house, find your mother; I will get out of here as soon as I can--"

"Shut up." Kenji stood utterly still, radiating waves of fury. That this man, this excuse for a father, would tell him exactly what he longed to hear, convinced him that it was all utter lies. It hurt and disgusted him, and any lingering respect he might have had for Himura Kenshin died.

"I meant to kill you here, but...I think I'll wait." He visibly calmed, and Kenshin's mouth came open in dismay as he realized that his son had retreated behind a wall of arrogant reserve. Kenshin knew about walls. "Kenji--"

"I don't," Kenji snapped, "want to hear anything else you say. I don't want to have anything to do with you, actually, except to watch you die - and I think that will be more...interesting if I wait until you're not locked up."

"Lend me your sword," Kenshin said in a low voice. "Then I will free myself, and we can talk."

Kenji smiled coldly and bowed with great sarcasm. "See you later, Himura Kenshin." He turned and walked away.

"Kenji! _Kenji_!" Kenshin flung himself against the bars and stretched his arms through them as far as they would go, reaching desperately for the son he was once again losing. "KENJI!"

o.o.o.o.o

Saitô's calm expression and unhurried pace seemed odd next to the half-panicked nervousness of the men who trotted at his heels. He could have been taking a leisurely stroll rather than heading to the location of a dangerous prisoner whose current behavior had put the whole building on high alert. "C-Captain, this way please," one of the men stammered, obviously restraining himself from adding, _'Please hurry!'_

Saitô nodded, his pace unaltered. The shouting had grown louder and louder as they approached, and Saitô now stood watching the scuffle, almost deafened by the noise. The small red-haired figure was difficult to see, crushed under brutal hands and angry voices; at the moment Saitô was able to get a good look at him, he raised a bloodied face, mouth half-open in a snarl, eyes blazing, managing even while half-drugged to avoid being bound with a limited degree of success.

"Let him go." No one heard him at first. Saitô continued to wait, and was pretty disgusted when the prisoner noticed him before any his own men did. Kenshin stilled, eyes fixed on Saitô, and the men yelled triumphantly, seizing their advantage. A few more then noticed Saitô and quickly saluted; this drew the attention of their companions, until the noise had died away. Kenshin knelt in the hush, unable to move his arms and making no attempt to, ignoring the ring of guns trained on him, golden eyes till fixed on Saitô. Again, this time in a voice ominous with displeasure, "Let him go."

"But we just got--!" The protest cut off abruptly. After a long, uncomfortable pause, someone stepped forward and uneasily worked to release Kenshin, soon joined by another to help. Kenshin did not move when he was free, ignoring the guns still trained on him as he gazed at Saitô. Then he said, very quietly, "Another?"

Saitô did not think it was any of Battousai's business to know that, indeed, another assassination had been performed, meaning that Himura Kenshin could no longer be held. He was not the only slight, scarred, red-haired killer around. "You will be happy to learn," Saitô said ironically, "that you are no longer a primary suspect for the 'Hitokiri Battousai' murders. If you will step right his way, we can process you out of here."

Kenshin's jaw clenched, the only sign that he must be upset over the crimes of his son. However he said nothing as he got gracefully to his feet and followed Saitô out.

o.o.o.o.o

The sound of a key unlocking the front door sent Kaoru into a panic. She and the girls were halfway out one of the back windows when Kenshin's voice echoed through the house. "Kaoru-dono?"

Kaoru froze.

"It's Daddy!" the girls cried joyfully, but she hushed them.

"Stay here," she whispered, and crept back to the bedroom door. Peeking around it, she gasped when she saw her husband right in front of her, reaching for the handle, his eyes wide in mutual surprise. "Oh-- it really is you," she gasped in relief, wild scenarios from movies and TV collapsing from her imagination.

They hugged for a long time, Kaoru too happy to speak, the girls chattering and patting his face and hair to reassure themselves, Kenshin smiling though his expression was troubled. Kaoru knew better than to ask until the children were asleep and they sat watchfully in the bedroom doorway with cups of tea. "What is it?"

He stared down into the steaming liquid as he answered. "Did you...hear about the latest assassinations?"

"The targets are all people involved with dragons in one way or another," she said gravely. "It has something to do with Enishi and Shishio, doesn't it."

Kenshin was silent for a minute, still not looking at her. Then he said softly, "I was arrested...because the assassin...looked like me. Even though I didn't do it. And I was released because the same person struck again when I was locked up and _couldn't_ have done it." He raised his eyes to hers at last, his face full of anguished hope. "Do you understand?"

Kaoru was crying so that she couldn't say _'Yes,'_ but he knew, and reached to comfort her.

"We can't let the police get their hands on him," she whispered fiercely. _"I will not lose him again."_

"My thoughts," he murmured, his eyes golden, "exactly."

o.o.o.o.o

A week later, Himura Kenji performed his last assassination, though he did not realize it at the time. Everything seemed normal when he got back - until he was attacked the instant he stepped into Shishio's office to report in.

He was too well trained to be taken entirely by surprise; however, the fact that the assailant was his master caused him to hesitate, and the next moment he found himself standing red-faced and stiff with shame as Shishio held a sword to his throat in what could have been a killing strike. "You were followed, my stupid apprentice," Shishio said coldly.

Kenji's mouth dropped open. "What?"

A burst of gunfire in the distance made him blink, and he turned as Shishio sheathed the sword and ambled out of the room. Kenji and Yumi followed him to the main entrance passage, and watched as policemen found cover and shot at dragons armed with swords and fire. Kenji's was amazed at the amount of blood - he was used to seeing it up close, from one or two people, as a result of sword wounds. Seeing so many gunned down or slashed open or burnt to cinders, hearing the screams of so many wounded or dying men all at once, seeing so much blood flow as carelessly as if it had no worth....

"Does the sight of it bother you?" Shishio asked scornfully.

Kenji straightened his shoulders. "No."

"Even though this is all your fault?"

Kenji went cold. "I...." He had let the police find Shishio's hideout. Shishio was losing men and resources because of him - these people were dying because of him. "Forgive me, Shishou," his whispered.

"What you need more than forgiveness," Shishio said conversationally, "is to prove to me that you're still worth keeping. Yumi and I are leaving now. Come find us, or die, one way or the other. I'll leave it to you."

Kenji did not watch Shishio walk away. His eyes were fixed on the chaos ahead, and the knowledge of what he had to do. _'I am...an assassin,'_ he thought uneasily. _'I am meant to kill....'_ One or two targets, dangers to his kind. He had never gone up against a huge group before, even though he had been trained for it. He wasn't looking forward to massacre. _'But...what else is there?'_

Kenji's eyes narrowed. _'This is who I am now. No looking back. There is nothing left to look back to.'_ He pushed Megumi's face from his mind and resolved to clean out his master's enemies.

Before that, however, there was one very important matter to take care of. This might be his last chance.

Kenji turned aside and began to hunt for his prey. He had been preparing for this, quietly, for a long time.

o.o.o.o.o

Shishio was obviously done for, or at least this location was. Enishi avoided pockets of fighting, his blood slowly boiling, knowing that Tomoe and her husband had run straight into the arms of the invaders. He had to...get her back...but if she didn't want to come, would he have to hold her prisoner? What kind of life would that be for either of them? _'She _belongs_ with me.'_

Enishi's attention was caught by the small figure that burst out of a nearby doorway and then froze upon seeing him. Enishi gave whoever it was an annoyed look, then grinned. "Oh. It's you."

The boy sucked in a breath and backed away, frightened eyes fixed on him. It was irresistible. Enishi stalked slowly toward him, relishing the creature's obvious fear. "What's wrong, hatchling? Not so tough now that your claws are gone?"

The boy held no sword, his clothes were torn. "Please...please, I just...want to get out of here...." He yelped and tried to dodge as Enishi lunged at him, but couldn't get away. Enishi pinned him, growling. "You really think I would let you go? Not a chance."

Kenji waited until the hands had closed around his throat. Then he struck.

o.o.o.o.o

The last of their leads had proved to be yet another dead end. They had decided they might as well run some long-neglected errands, so Kenshin went for groceries while Kaoru took the girls clothes shopping. He was the first one home that evening; the lights were all out and her car was still gone when Kenshin pulled into the driveway. He loaded his arms with bags and headed up to the house, but as he was standing in front of the door, struggling to fit his key in the lock in the darkness, he was suddenly pulled out of his what-shall-I-cook-for-dinner musings.

For a moment he stood frozen, unable to believe his senses at first. But it was true.... Someone was waiting for him inside. Someone whose identity he was certain of, since there was only one person he knew who could have that much hurt and shame mixed in with such anger. Kenshin closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.

Then he finished unlocking the door and stepped inside, grumbling good-naturedly at the awkwardness of the shopping bags. Carefully keeping his eyes away from a certain corner of the living room, he began to hum as he flipped on lights and started unloading the food.

The whole time, he kept most of his attention fixed on the presence which had hesitated, then crept silently toward him, growing angrier and angrier with each movement. Kenshin was sad, but did not waver in his charade as he continued to feign obliviousness. It was only when he had put away the perishable items and closed the refrigerator door that he paused - Kenji was now so close that there was no way Kenshin could pretend not to see him when he turned around. So he sighed. "I'm glad you're here, Kenji," he said softly. There was a small spike of emotion in the ki behind him, but otherwise no reaction.

Kenshin turned around - then gasped, not having realized that Kenji was wounded, with blood staining his clothes and dripping in a trail on the floor. The boy smiled, mistaking the gasp for a reaction to the sword he was holding threateningly close. "I was thinking...that I'd probably regret it if you died not knowing what hit you."

"Kenji," his father said softly. "Now that you've come...will you please stay with us?"

Kenji's eyes narrowed. "I think you're misunderstanding the situation. I've come to kill you with this." He touched the sword testingly to his father's throat. Kenshin didn't move, reaching for him with his eyes. "Kenji...I saw what Enishi told you. It was a lie."

Kenji shook his head violently, though he lowered his weapon.

"We wanted you back...we wanted you so badly--"

"Shut up!" The sword flashed and thrust; Kenshin choked back a groan of pain as he was pierced through. Kenji's breath came rushing out of him in a stunned gasp as he saw that he had just done in reality what he had only done in his dreams and nightmares for so long. "I...." _I've surpassed you. I'm better than you. I don't...need you anymore._

It didn't feel particularly good, not like this. He felt like he had been lonely, and had come close to somewhere warm, and with this act he was going away into the cold again. _'I'm _supposed_ to be alone,'_ he thought, but was unable to convince himself.

He was surprised when Kenshin slowly pushed himself along the sword's length, trying to get closer. The man's trembling fingers reached to touch his son's face as Kenji stood frozen. "Then...let my blood...be the last...that your hands ever spill." He had to pause for more breath. "Set your crimes...on my shoulders...and...be free." Kenshin's legs were unable to hold him anymore. They buckled and he sank to the floor, half-lying in the pool of his own blood. Kenji had somehow been drawn down with him, staring at him.

Kenshin was losing consciousness. He did not react much when his cell phone suddenly went off, except to cry out in pain when Kenji jumped at the unexpected noise. The tune was a scratchy recording of a love song that had been assigned to one of Kenshin's contacts. "Kaoru-dono," he murmured. At that his hand moved feebly toward his pocket, out of a vague desire to hear her voice again before he died. He gasped in pain when Kenji shoved his hand aside and fought to get the phone out of his pocket, the task made difficult because of trembling fingers.

Kenji stared at the tiny screen, reading the name on it over and over again. Then he slowly put the phone to his ear.

_"Kenshin? I said I'm on my way home, did you hear me? Kenshin? Hello?"_

"I think," Kenji whispered into the phone, "I did something bad."

There was silence. Then, confused and frightened, _"...Kenshin? Who is.... Hello?"_

"Come here!" Kenji suddenly screamed at her. "Hurry and come back, before he dies! Come back, come back, please!"

He looked down at Kenshin, whose eyes were closed. Kenji's mouth opened. "........" Nothing came out. He didn't know what to call him. He finally swallowed and forced the word out of his mouth. "Dad?" There was no response. The phone slipped from his hands and Kenji bent over his father, tugging helplessly at his shoulders. "D-- Batt--" He swallowed. "...Dad?"

Nothing, still nothing, and suddenly Kenji was pounding the floor and shouting. "Wake up! I didn't mean-- I did mean it, I hate you, but I-- Wake up, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-- but now-- please don't--! Dad! Dad, Dad, _Dad_...!" Then he just crushed his fingertips against his skull and screamed without words. If he had been alone, he would have thought of driving the blade through his own heart, because for the first time he let himself realize how much he hated - not Enishi, not Kenshin, but himself.

o.o.o.o.o

Tomoe stared at the body for a long time. She could not speak for a while, though she had recognized the corpse instantly, even with half its face burned and its body scored by claw marks and the slashed hole where the heart had once been. "Yes," she finally said. "It's him." Saitô nodded, a little mollified that at least one of his prey was dead, even though the other had escaped.

Tomoe reached out and very gently touched her brother's hand. "It was when you started to love your revenge more than you loved me," she whispered. "Good-bye, Enishi."

_to be continued..._

Author's Note: In my other stories, Enishi usually redeems himself in some degree by the end. However, both of us wanted to try a different fate for him here, in keeping with the darker tone of this fic. (Strangely enough, although he didn't trust me before, he started liking me when I made the decision to let him go all-out and then kill him off. Heh, I think he prefers that to the frustrated little whiner I made him be in _Faerie Chronicles_.) I find it interesting that the range of his potential is so broad, and I've got a lot of (much nicer) stuff planned for him in future fics.


	7. Reunions

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 7 - Reunions **(ROUGH DRAFT)  
**

A/N: This chapter is also entirely made up of completely new material. Explanations are at the bottom.

o.o.o

It was a cool evening, and Kenji thought idly that the pleasant sensation of the breeze playing through his hair was probably the only reason he had not killed himself yet.

He was huddled on the far side of the roof, which gave him a nice view of the backyard, but the only thing he was interested in looking at right now was the way the blood from his injuries glimmered a little in the moonlight as it trickled slowly across the rough shingles.

_'When are they gonna get here?'_ He had called an ambulance what felt like hours ago, even though he knew it had only been a few minutes. That's what you did when people got hurt, you called ambulances. Kenji _knew_ this, knew it was normal, knew that hospitals were...theoretically...supposed to help people, keep people from dying. That's why he had called them.

It's just...he was glad they were coming for Kenshin, not for him. And nothing in the world would have persuaded him to stick around for them to find him along with their intended victim - not that he would have stayed with the terrible thing he had done a second longer than necessary, anyway. In any case, they would arrive and find the corpse alone in the house. Kenji was pretty sure his father was dead by now, no matter how securely he thought he had tied the makeshift bandage.

From the street, he heard the sound of a vehicle - smaller and quieter than a van; no siren. Another neighbor returning home.

But no, the car slowed abruptly and turned aside. Kenji frowned and crept up to the peak of the roof so that he could see - yes, the car had pulled haphazardly into the Himuras' driveway. What was their business here? He tensed for a moment as if for battle, then deflated again when he saw the female figure flinging itself out of the driver's side door. He knew that woman. Himura Kaoru. His mother.

It was a strange thought, and painful. He could only tolerate it for a few seconds before he had to push it away again. Himura Kaoru. An assassin's wife.

She was _somebody's_ mother, though; she was shouting something to the little girls in the back seat before slamming the car door shut and running to the house.

Kenji stared hard at those two small figures, who were prudently burrowing out of sight. His sisters. He tested that thought, too, and it also hurt, but not nearly as much. They could still be his sisters, even if he had completely failed to keep them safe. He wanted very much to go down and be close to them, but he could hear the siren now, rapidly approaching, and he dug his fingertips painfully into the edges of the shingles to force himself to stay put.

_'They're still not your family. They could have been, if you weren't such a...'_ He called himself cruel names until it started to become a sort of selfish, sordid pleasure. Wallowing in self-hatred seemed oddly gratifying, so he stopped. He didn't deserve any comfort, even a stupid kind like that.

They were all gone pretty quickly: the wounded man, who was apparently not dead yet and therefore warranted the rush; the woman Kenji could not stand to think of as his mother; and the girls. The siren faded into the distance again, and Kenji was now truly alone.

His purpose was gone now. He had kept watch, fulfilled his duty; Himura Kenshin was now as safe as circumstances allowed. Kenji had nowhere to go. Nowhere was safe, and he didn't deserve to be safe, anyway. Shishio would not take him back, not after he had disobeyed orders like that...and yet Kenji could not muster up even a shred of regret for putting his own desire before orders this time. If he had not sought out Yukishiro Enishi in that moment, he would have lost his chance forever. After that terrifying battle, he had had strength enough left for only one more confrontation, and in a strange way Kenji was glad he had picked the one with his father. He had not wanted to turn on the police, on those men who had once saved his life. If he had not faced Kenshin tonight, it just would have meant more of the same cold assassin's life, more of his heart dying, and Kenji knew now that he had wanted all along to be free of Shishio almost as much as he had wanted to be free of Enishi.

Then...Kenshin really had known what he was talking about with that ridiculous statement - _"Let my blood be the last your hands ever spill. Set your crimes on my shoulders. Be free."_ They would always be Kenji's crimes, there was no changing that. But there had been hope offered, too; hope that Kenji was too heartsick to accept, but which he was glad to be allowed a glimpse of. Hope. Ridiculous, not for him to own; but the fact that others had it was...a good thing. People with hope, like those little girls, might not make such a terrible mess of things like he had.

Freedom, though. The thought of it was like fresh water to Kenji's parched soul. He craved freedom like he once (like he still, despite it all...) craved life. _'I want to be free.'_

He had thought he would be free when he cut down Yukishiro Enishi's wretched life. It had been such a terrible struggle, horror dawning as each strike seemed to have so little effect, as the monster had recovered from every attack almost instantly, laughing. Despair had set in, Kenji had been possessed by a suicidal desperation; and then when he had laid hands on his enemy's fallen sword, expecting it to be the final attempt in a long series of failed ones... It was over. Just like that. His frantically vengeful abuse of the body afterwards had been unnecessary; after only two strikes with that sword - one for surprise, the other for the fatal blow -, Enishi's life had ended, and Kenji had no idea why. He didn't care, either. Just as long as it was _over_.

"Now my life is over, too," Kenji told himself. If he didn't bleed to death up here, he would starve on the streets or be picked up and locked away by the police, and probably condemned to die for his crimes. He had nowhere to go, nobody left to turn to, no purpose to pursue. "He was...right," Kenji whispered in amazement, then cursed himself.

Kyouya had seen this coming. _"Eventually the world is going to fall apart again. What are you going to do then, since you've cut off all other ties?"_ And Kenji had been so flippant, so careless of the future; and now that it really was happening, he desperately wished that he had done things differently.

_'Done _what _different? Refuse to be kidnapped?'_

Kenji lay carefully back on the roof and stared up at the sky as he reached for his sword. The cold, smooth feel of it reassured him a little, and he couldn't help a small smile. "My last friend," he mused, holding the sword straight up above him with both arms outstretched. "My last friend is a killer's weapon. Figures." With leisurely grace, he drew the blade and tilted it a little, watching the way it glimmered in the moonlight. Then he began to think, unhurriedly, about whether he should make a try for life on the streets or just give in to fate right here; and if the latter, how best to accomplish it. Throat? Wrists? Heart?

"..."

Those little girls would be very upset if they came home and found a gory corpse fouling up the place. He was going to have to go somewhere else to do this. Kenji sighed, re-sheathed the sword, and sat up with a groan.

There was a sudden noise from the street. If the engine had been a car's, Kenji would have ignored it; but it was a motorcycle. Suddenly curious (and probably procrastinating, like a miserable little coward...) Kenji crawled up again to look.

To his considerable surprise, the motorcycle veered into the Himuras' driveway. Then Kenji actually collapsed in shock, lying flat on his belly as he stared at the white-jacketed figure leap off the bike and stride purposefully up to the house. "Sano, what are you _doing_ here?" he whispered in amazement.

Sagara Sanosuke started to pound on the door before remembering that children lived here and were probably in bed, so he changed it to a jittery, impatient tapping. "Himura, answer the freakin' door," he muttered, knowing even as he said it that obviously there had not been time for anyone to get to the door unless they had been waiting right on the other side of it. "Come _on_!"

A sudden shuffling in the bushes by the front porch made him spin around, but then he saw a glint of reddish hair, a slight figure and the vaguely asymmetrical impression of a face. "What're you doing, playing guard dog?" he snapped in relief, moving quickly over to the other man. "Oi, I talked to the Ootori kid again; he'd managed to scrounge up some new info - they _found Shishio_, they're doing a raid _tonight_." He paused expectantly.

The figure did not speak, merely shifted a little.

"Himura! Wake _up_, this is a chance to nab our little punk! For all I know the police've already moved in, we might even be too late!"

"You are," the figure said softly. "Shishio's gone."

Sanosuke stared. "Uh...wha-?"

The figure half turned away, laying a slim hand on the porch railing. "...Sano...I - I killed my own father."

At the sound of that unexpected voice, Sanosuke felt like someone had punched him, and he couldn't move. Then, just when the figure in the darkness shifted again as if to slip away, Sanosuke lunged forward and seized him, hauling him over to the porch light so he could see his face clearly.

For a second Sanosuke stared down at that wide-eyed, wounded expression in disbelief. Then he howled out of sheer emotion and flung the boy against the wall. "What the freak are you _doing_? We spend a week trying to track you down, and now you turn up at the front door?"

Kenji said nothing. He simply stared at Sanosuke, tremors occasionally seizing his body from both emotional and physical stress.

Sanosuke stared back, slightly at a loss. Why didn't the kid _say_ someth-? "Wait - what'd you just say?"

Kenji swallowed. "Sano, I...came here...to k-kill my father. I...stabbed him." He looked away. Sanosuke swore. "He's gone now," Kenji added in a low voice. "No one's home. I was just about to go away, too. I'm sorry you had to...come here-" He paused and looked back at the man. "I'm glad you came," he whispered.

"Himura's dead," Sanosuke repeated numbly.

Kenji shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. They took him away. If he's not dead by now he...probably will be soon." He thought about the girls again, and had a sudden desperate hope for their sake that their father would live. "Or maybe not. I don't...know."

Sanosuke ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Urgh...I can't deal with this. I'm calling your mom." He pulled out his cell phone, but Kenji gripped his arm.

"No. Don't call her. She'll hate me. I don't want to have anything to do with her."

"Kenji," Sanosuke growled, "do you realize how worried _sick_ she's been about you? She thought you were dead; your real family thought you were dead; then they find out you're alive but you've been going around killing people - stop being so freaking selfish and cut them a break already!"

Kenji had gone very cold, and suddenly he couldn't breathe. "What do you mean, my real family?" he said belligerently. "What do you mean, _she_?"

Sanosuke frowned. "And that's another thing. Why the heck didja tell me your mom was dead? Nearly gave me a heart attack when she came strolling through the door!"

"Megumi!" Kenji gasped, feeling as if a sword had just been driven into his heart.

"Yeah, I found her - found Himura, too - when I was trying to dig up your info-"

Sanosuke had just enough time to register Kenji's twisted expression of rage before the boy slugged him in the face.

"What the-?" Sanosuke floundered back to his feet, sputtering and cursing. "Are you _crazy_?"

"Sano!" Kenji screamed, but then found he had no more words. How could Sano, of all people, do this to him? How could Sano taunt him so cruelly about the only person Kenji had ever truly loved?

The boy turned away to leave - and was attacked from behind; he gasped in surprise and outrage when he found that Sanosuke had knocked him to the ground and planted a foot on his back to keep him there. Kenji winced in pain, his wing muscles trembling convulsively beneath his skin. "Get off me."

"I'm calling her," Sanosuke growled. "Stay put. Five minutes. Give me five minutes."

"Get _off_ me!"

"Kenji!"

"Fine!"

"Little brat," Sanosuke muttered as he removed his foot.

Kenji sat up and glared, his fingers curling into the grass roots beneath him as he listened to Sanosuke dial and activate the phone's speaker.

_[*"Hello?"_

"Oi, it's Sano,"*] Sanosuke said, watching Kenji. "I'm coming over."

_"Ugh; I'm not home, Sagara."_

At the sound of her voice, Kenji bowed over and stuffed his sleeve into his mouth, trying to shut himself up long enough to keep listening. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything about the tears that had suddenly started streaming down his cheeks.

"This is _important_, woman!" Sanosuke said in exasperation. "I need to see you!"

_"For heaven's sake, Sagara, this is not the time! I'm _preoccupied_ right now!"_

"I'm not asking for a _date_ again, you moron!"

Her voice sounded equally exasperated. _"Look, I'm at the hospital, Sagara. Kenshin-san's been injured; Kaoru-san won't leave him, and neither of them are in any state to look after the girls. I've just managed to convince her to let me take the girls home instead of sitting with them at the hospital all night, so again, this is _really not the time._"_

"We'll meet you there, then," Sanosuke snapped. "Just stay at the hospital for, like, _ten more minutes_, can you do that? I'll meet you outside."

_"...Like I said, this had better be good."_ She hung up with a click.

Kenji had never heard Megumi be so rude before, but it didn't matter. Her voice, her tone and the inflections of her speech, had been unmistakable. He pulled his sleeve out of his mouth, pressed his forehead against his knees and sobbed.

Sanosuke stood there for a while, fidgeting both with great discomfort and with frantic impatience as he felt the seconds ticking by. "Look, kid," he finally grumbled, not knowing where to look. "Kenji...look, stop, uh...shut up, will you?" The boy showed no indication of having heard him. Sanosuke growled to himself and paced up and down a few steps; scrubbed his hands through his hair; cleared his throat and tried unsuccessfully to focus his attention elsewhere. Finally he burst out, "Kenji, please shut up!"

The boy raised his face and stared at him, still crying softly. Sanosuke stared back. For freak's sake; it should be illegal to have eyes that huge and watery. The sight of it was breaking his thick jaded heart and making him rethink any vague desire to have kids of his own some day. "K-Kenji...look, just get on the bike, will ya?"

Kenji obviously was trying to reply, but Sanosuke couldn't hear a thing. He could guess, though. "Trust me, they won't care. They _won't care_. And if you're trying to be a selfish little brat again, forget it. You owe it to them to stop - to stop running away like a coward you hear me?"

Kenji had thankfully stopped crying, but his head had dropped again, and he didn't move. Sanosuke fell to his knees beside the boy and leaned over him urgently. "Kenji...I'm sorry, you're not a coward; you're the bravest little punk I know - Kenji, please. Just get on the freaking bike and come with me, _please_."

Kenji swallowed hard, and Sanosuke was relieved to see his expression hardening. Wordlessly, Kenji climbed to his feet and trudged over to the motorcycle, pausing to lay a hand on it. "You got a new one."

Sanosuke chuckled sharply. Anything to avoid emotional topics - which was fine with him. "Yeah." He meant to say more, but his throat had suddenly closed. _Kenji was back._ It had finally sunk in, and now his job was to make sure the kid stayed back for good. If he somehow slipped off again, those three parents were gonna kill someone, and Sanosuke had the feeling he would be the most convenient target.

"Still looks like a junk heap."

"Shut your mouth 'til you see her in action!" Then they were bantering again as if it were the old days, except that each of them could see the pain in each other's eyes, and could feel the deadly urgency that had seemed to seep in. "You ready, kid?"

"Let's go."

o.o.o.o.o

Kaoru was being absolutely _useless_, and Megumi could not even blame her. The woman seemed as silent and motionless as a doll, slumped in a chair in the otherwise empty waiting room, her head bowed and her arms wrapped around her older daughter.

Ayame sat there in her lap just crying hopelessly, crying and crying from fatigue and stress and because her mommy was not acting right. The exhausted Suzume was sprawled kicking and screaming on the floor, as Megumi knelt over her in exasperation and a distressed-looking nurse tried to get them to leave. "I'm sorry...you're disturbing some of the patients...I'm so sorry..."

"I know," Megumi said tiredly. "I apologize." She felt like throwing herself on the floor and throwing a tantrum of her own. She DID NOT want to deal with this, but apparently she was the only one who could. "Kaoru-san, _please_!"

There was no response, and the girls' cries continued to clamor in Megumi's ears until she wanted to either slap them across their poor tired faces or bash herself in the head to get it all to stop.

She, understandably, barely heard her phone ring; luckily it was on vibrate as well. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID: _Sagara Sanosuke_. Immediately she snapped open the phone. "Hello there," she said sweetly, though the effect was a bit spoiled by how loudly she had to talk just in order to hear herself. "Can you hear that, you self-absorbed bird head? Are you hearing what I've been having to deal with?"

_"I bet it beats what I just had to deal with at the house,"_ he shot back, barely audible over Suzume's screams. _"Oi, we're here. Come down, will ya?"_

"I can't _leave_, Sagara Sanosuke! They're trying to kick the girls out because they're screaming, and I _doubt_ you want a couple of screaming children around when you try to ask me out again or propose or whatever NONSENSE you're insisting on this time!"

_"For crying out loud, I just asked you out once - as a JOKE, you conceited fox-woman!"_

Megumi hung up on him. She flung the phone into a chair and then scooped Suzume into her arms, rocking the child mindlessly. She could feel herself shaking in anger. She wanted to cry.

"I want!" Suzume shrieked. There was a pause as she apparently tried to figure out what she wanted. Finally she gave up and just howled, "Mama! Mama!" Then she squirmed tightly into Megumi and bit her hard.

Megumi lay down on the floor with the child still in her arms and stared up at the too-bright ceiling. There were two nurses now, but she couldn't hear what they were saying and didn't care.

"...Your phone is ringing again."

Megumi sat up again in surprise. It was Kaoru who had spoken, though the woman did not otherwise move or look up. Ayame had gone quiet, and was simply huddled miserably against her mother's chest. Megumi could see her phone lit up and buzzing on the seat next to Kaoru. For a minute she considered simply not answering it, or even finding the nearest window to throw it out of, but then she sighed and got to her feet and hefted Suzume onto her hip and then answered the phone one-handed just before it went to voicemail.

_"...I'm sorry."_ Sanosuke sounded almost as tired as she felt. _"I am very sorry, Ms. Takani. I apologize. A million times, or whatever you want."_ He sighed very heavily._ "Will you please come down? _Please_? I'm afraid Kenji's gonna take off again if I leave him alone too long."_

Megumi forgot to breathe. "_What_ did you say?" she finally managed to gasp out.

_"Did he really stab Himura?"_ Sanosuke suddenly burst out, as if he had been wanting to ask it for a long time. _"I just...I can't believe- Look, I can't _deal_ with him right now, he's a basketcase and I thought if anyone could do anything with him it would be-"_

"I'll be right down," Megumi interrupted. "Where are you?"

_"Front lobby, right by the doors."_

"Okay." She hung up. She paused a moment, torn between immediately rushing down to Kenji or waiting to settle the girls first. Then she sighed. Whatever. Kenji had sisters now and would have to get used to them. "Kaoru-san, I have to take Suzume-chan out of here."

Kaoru looked up, and hesitated. Then Megumi could actually see the decision to not say anything cross her face, and Kaoru dropped her head again.

"Ayame-chan," Megumi coaxed, holding out a hand.

"No," Ayame wailed, clutching at her mother.

Megumi pressed her fingers hard against her own forehead. "I'll be back, then," she sighed, and left. Suzume had finally quieted somewhat; now she was just clinging to Megumi and crying without resistance.

Sanosuke was fidgeting right by the front doors, just as he had said. For some reason the sight of him warmed Megumi's heart, the welcome thought of another adult who was on her side and could help. _'My rescuer,'_ she thought in bitter amusement, then shook her head.

"Finally!" Sanosuke exclaimed when he saw her.

Suzume whimpered and hid her face against Megumi's neck.

"Why'd you bring the kid?"

"Couldn't leave her up there. She was bothering patients. Where's Kenji?"

"Hiding."

Somehow Megumi knew he meant, hiding from them, not staying out of sight for fear people might recognize him as an assassin. "Here, take Suzume."

"Wha-?" Sanosuke seemed as resistant to the idea as the child was, but Megumi had run out of patience. She yanked out Sanosuke's stiff arms and pushed Suzume into them, loosening her grip just enough so that the threat of dropping her caused him to tighten his hold securely on the child. Man and girl stared at each other mistrustfully. Suzume's lip began to wobble.

"Look, Suzume-chan." Megumi tugged on one of Sanosuke's black spikes of hair. "Bird head."

"Bird head," Suzume repeated uncertainly, obviously trying to decide whether to be amused or throw another tantrum.

"Oi!" Sanosuke hissed indignantly, but abruptly stopped when the little girl burst into tears at the look on his face. "Wh-What do I do?" he stammered, staring at the child as if she was a dangerous wild animal.

"Rock her. Pat her head. Tell her everything will be all right. _Smile_, for heaven's sake. She's frightened, and tired, she doesn't know you very well, and you're a big scary man."

"Thanks," Sanosuke said sourly. He hesitated, then awkwardly jiggled her up and down. "Uh...everything will be all right, little girl."

Suzume tried to twist away from him as she cried, glaring up at him nervously.

"Um..." An idea occurred to him. He put on a smile and bent his head a little to tickle her cheek with the tips of his hair. "Look, I'm a bird head. Awk, awk!"

To his profound relief, she stopped crying and patted his hair solemnly (he winced as he felt the carefully-gelled spikes getting crushed, but wisely said nothing).

"Bird head," Suzume agreed. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to cry again.

"Good enough," Megumi told him with a surprisingly encouraging smile. "At least she's not scared of you anymore. Come on."

They went outside, where crickets were chirping somewhere in the shadows, and clusters of moths seemed to be attacking each harsh glare of light. For a while they strolled along paths here and there, leading between narrow patches of landscaping and occasionally branching out to the parking lots. "Where are we going?" Megumi finally asked.

"No clue. Just walking around 'til the brat decides to show himself."

A few minutes later, a dark figure landed with a rustling thump on the grass a few steps away from them. Megumi jumped and moved involuntarily behind Sanosuke, who simply grinned at the figure. "About time, idiot."

"Shut up."

Megumi's throat constricted, and she swallowed hard to clear it. "Kenji," she said softly.

He approached slowly, uncertainly. She reached out to take hold of his shoulders and drew him into the light. They gazed at each other for a long time, his hands drifting up to grasp her arms lightly. Finally she smiled a watery smile and hugged him. "I've missed you, kid."

"Missed you, Megumi," he whispered. "So much..." His voice broke and he began to cry quietly into her shoulder. She held him and stroked his hair, thinking sadly that she had not had to do this for him in so long, and now it was like he was seven years old again.

When he seemed to have gotten some control of himself, she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands, gently wiping away the last of the tears as she studied his face, her lips tightening as she took in the scarred cheek and the tortured eyes. "My baby," she whispered, "my darling, I'm so glad you've come back."

It was obviously an effort for him to speak. "M...Megumi...what am I gonna do?"

She had no answer for him right now, at least not the kind he wanted. So she smiled and smoothed his hair and said strongly, "I don't know yet, baby; but you've got us. We love you. We'll help you. Don't fight us, don't run away - we have to stay together."

He looked away, gazing at nothing for a while. Finally he said in a low voice, "Don't call me baby," but he was smiling a little. He looked back at her, almost shyly. "Can I...go home with you?"

She kissed him and held him tightly again, forgetting to say out loud that of course he was coming home with her. Then she remembered, "Oh - the girls are coming, too. They can't stay here all night, and Kaoru-san can't leave-" She stopped when she felt him suddenly go tense. "Kenji," she said gently. She pulled back again, looking into his face. "Kenji, my love, listen to me. Your..." It was so hard to say. "Your mother is up there," Megumi said softly. "You need to let her see you."

He shivered a little. His expression pinched stubbornly and he pulled away from her, refusing to meet her eyes. Megumi said nothing, watching as he caught sight of Suzume, who had fallen asleep in Sanosuke's arms. Kenji stepped up to the little girl and leaned his face close to her, studying her for a long time before reaching out to gently touch her cheek and then smooth a lock of dark hair out of her face. "Her hair's all sweaty," he commented, sounding almost affectionate.

"She's heavy," Sanosuke pretended, pushing her into the suddenly alarmed Kenji's arms. "Hold her, will ya? She's _yours_, not mine."

Kenji stood awkwardly trying to balance the limp bundle of flesh in his grip, wincing as her weight put pressure on his injuries. The little girl fussed in her sleep and cracked open bleary eyes, face puckered in irritation. Her eyes widened as she stared at the young man who held her. Then she burst into tears and seized him. "Daddy, _Daddy_."

Megumi smiled sadly at Kenji's panicked expression. "She knows you're not really her father - she's upset because she's not allowed to see him."

Kenji's face went white. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and held his sister tightly. "I'm so sorry, Suzume," he whispered brokenly. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

"I want Daddy," she wailed.

Kenji was so tired. He sat down on the ground and held her, hating himself for having hurt her. Why hadn't he realized that if he killed Himura Kenshin, it was not only one life he would be affecting? _'Stupid, stupid, I'm so _stupid_.'_

He heard the clicking sound of cell phone buttons being pushed, and he looked up to see Megumi dialing. Their eyes met as she put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring.

_'Please don't, Megumi. Please don't make me.'_

_'Don't run away.'_

_'_Please_, Megumi...'_

_'Don't run away.'_

Megumi was relieved when Kaoru picked up - apparently the other woman was not so worn down that she would ignore a call from the person who had temporary charge of Suzume. _"Megumi?"_

"Kaoru-san, could you please bring Ayame-chan down? ... Yes, Sagara's here, we'll be okay. ... I promise. It's all right, Kaoru-san. Please come down."

Kenji managed to last for about a minute. Then he was forced to last for another couple of minutes, because Suzume was still gripping him and starting to fall asleep again, and he had trouble handing her off to one of the others. Finally, though, Megumi took her; the girl settled grumpily into her arms and sighed, keeping her eyes closed. Kenji managed to slip away just as a woman he recognized was starting to come out of the lobby doors, holding the hand of another little girl.

"Kenji!" Sanosuke hissed, but the boy had vanished. "That little-"

Megumi laid a hand on his arm, and they shared a long look. They leaned close to exchange a few whispers, then Sanosuke straightened and nodded, and Megumi went to greet Kaoru.

"Megumi-san," Kaoru said in a low voice, coming to a stop as the other woman came up. "This is really hard for me."

"I know." Megumi indicated Sanosuke behind her with a jerk of the head. "I'll make him stick around as a guard dog. It'll be fine. We'll keep the girls safe for you."

Kaoru tried to muster up a thank you, but could not. She looked down at Ayame, who was clutched her hand and staring at the ground. "...Ayame-chan."

"I don't want to leave you," Ayame said in a small voice.

Megumi crouched down and smiled. "Ayame-chan, won't you come with us and help look after your sister?"

Ayame gazed at her solemnly. "Who's going to look after Mommy?"

"We'll come back tomorrow," Megumi promised. "First thing, we'll come back and see how Mommy and Daddy are doing. For now you need your rest, sweetheart."

Kaoru knelt down as well and kissed her daughter, rocking her in her arms for a moment. "Go on," she whispered. "I'll be all right. Take care of Suzume, and come see us tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Ayame whispered, kissing her back. Then she dolefully took Megumi's free hand and started to walk down the path with her, her head craned back to watch her mother. Kaoru stood silhouetted against the light from the lobby, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched them go.

Kaoru could not see much. Sagara Sanosuke's figure stood out in the glare from the lights that lined the path, but his face was shrouded in shadows. She felt just a little reassured. The girls would not be completely alone and helpless with Megumi, with that woman who was walking away with her children again. If they had a protector like Sagara around, maybe...maybe this time nothing would...

She expected Sagara to take Suzume's burden, but he made no move to help Megumi as they walked away. Kaoru frowned, watching as they moved off and got harder and harder to see. Then Sagara paused - and suddenly leaped off the path; for a minute all she could see of him was the light patch of his white jacket as he struggled with something. Then he lurched back onto the path, hauling someone else with him.

For a minute Kaoru's heart seemed to jump into her throat as she thought wildly that it was another enemy, attacking them when they were so vulnerable, meaning to hurt her family yet again. Then Sagara came dragging whoever-it-was back up the path, and Kaoru nearly cried out when she first saw the glint of light on reddish hair. Tattered traditional clothes, stained with blood; the gleam of a sheathed sword; for one second she was struck with disorientation as she thought that Kenshin had somehow made his way out here. Then she realized, and she nearly cried out again.

Sagara's arm was wrapped firmly around the young man's neck as he dragged him toward her.

"Let go of me!"

"I don't think so."

"Let _go_, Sano, before I hurt you!"

"Why should I?"

"...Because I'll walk by myself, jerk. I hate you!"

"...Hm."

They broke apart and stood glaring at each other for a minute. Then, briefly, Kenji turned to face her - their eyes met. It seemed as if he had been about to take a step toward her, but then he suddenly looked away and shifted in the opposite direction. Sanosuke's hand fell heavily on his shoulder and they glared at each other again, then Kenji dropped his gaze and just stood there, staring at the ground, his face turned away, the set of his shoulders indicating that Sanosuke's grip was the only thing keeping him there.

Kaoru, horrified, suddenly understood. _'How can he be afraid of me? !'_ The next second she was striding forward, pushing Sanosuke aside and wrapping her arms around her son. The feel of him in her embrace, his smell, it reminded her of her other lost sons, the ones she would never hold again, and she was struck by a sudden wave of fresh grief that left her weeping and helpless just when she needed to be strong.

He said nothing, but she felt him hesitantly raise his hands to hug her back. "Kenji," she whispered. "Kenji."

His voice in her ear was low and a little hoarse. "I'm sorry."

"Stay with us," she whispered. She pulled back and found herself mesmerized by his face, so like Kenshin's from a distance and yet, up close, completely different. Her eyes traveled over every contour and detail in an attempt to memorize them, pausing briefly on the scar, riveted entirely by the eyes. "You are so precious to me," she found herself telling him, because it had been something she had held tightly in her heart for so long. She had to make sure he _knew_ it, now that she could finally tell him. "You are so, so precious to me. Please stay."

He looked away and did not answer, and she began to cry again.

"Don't," he muttered. He lifted a hand to her face but then dropped it again without touching her. "Please...don't."

Sanosuke suddenly shoved his shoulder, and Kenji glared up at him with resentful gratitude. "She's crying because her idiot son won't promise not to run away. She'll stop when you tell her you'll stay and mean it."

Kenji looked away again, sullenly.

"Kenji," she said hurriedly, "listen. We've been looking for you for so long. When you were born - don't you remember hearing our voices? Your name-"

"I remember," he said abruptly, cutting her off. "I know where my name came from."

She was hesitant now. "Only five years...then just when you were starting to communicate clearly, it was like-"

His scowl grew fierce. "I didn't want anything to do with the voices after- when I was five."

"What did we do? Why did-?"

"It wasn't you!" he snapped at her, and at her stricken look he stepped away from her and she could see from his face that if she tried to approach again she would lose him. "It wasn't anything you did," he said bitterly. "I just didn't want to talk to you anymore. I didn't want to be a dragon anymore. I hated dragons. I still hate them. I _hate_ them."

Because she could not touch him, she reached for his sleeve instead, taking up the edge of torn cloth and cradling it in her hands. "Kenji, we did everything in our power to get you back. We love you so much. We love you _so much_."

Though he said nothing, he tilted his head a little so that he could peer at her from behind the shelter of his bangs.

"Kenji, please stay," she begged him. "We have to be together. We need you, please don't leave." She felt like she would die if she lost one of them again.

"I'm not going to run off," he muttered. "'Least not for now."

There was a pause, and he squirmed uncomfortably. Then she suddenly stepped close and took his face between her hands, not quite gently. "_Promise me_," she said, and even though tears still glimmered in her eyes, her voice was like steel.

Kenji swallowed. "I...I can't..." He could lie. He could assure her that he would stay, and then he could just take off again if he needed to. Yet somehow the words would not come.

He stared at her, waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. Though he could almost read it in her eyes - _"Why are you doing this to me?"_

She really was his mother, he could see it now. The same love he knew from Megumi's expressions was here now in this woman's. Even so, how could he promise her such a thing? How could he back himself into a corner like that?

_'Just say it. Just promise, and don't worry about breaking it next time you have to run.'_

He took her hands in his own and lifted them away from his face, still holding them as he met her eyes and told her solemnly, "I promise I'll stay."

She searched his face. She knew he was lying, he was sure she knew he was lying, but all she said was, "Keep your sisters safe...we're depending on you."

He cursed silently. There was that. Something to pin him down, and he didn't like it. This was why he had vowed to never let anyone become precious to him again. Why had they been stupid enough to keep making more children after they had lost him, more weaknesses?

He could see the rising panic in her face, and he suddenly knew what to do. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before stepping back with a smile. "We'll be waiting for you. Mom." He had to work not to grimace when he said that word. Megumi was 'Mom.'

"Do you promise?" she asked again.

It surprised him how easily the words came this time. "I promise. We'll see you tomorrow."

"...I'll be waiting. I love you."

She did not move, and after a long time he realized that she could not bring herself to leave, that he had to be the one to break away first. Gently, he tugged his hands out of hers and began to back away. "...Good-bye, Mom."

Her face started to crumple, so he quickly turned away. Megumi was sitting on a bench by the path, still holding Suzume and looking exhausted; Sanosuke stood nearby, supporting the now-sleeping Ayame as she slumped on his back. "Ready?" he asked quietly.

Kenji nodded.

Sanosuke looked past him and nodded to Kaoru. "We'll be back."

"Don't let anything happen to them!"

"I won't." Sanosuke frowned and opened his mouth again, but then shook his head. "Let's go, Kenji."

"Yeah." There was no way he could bring himself to look back, nor did he have any desire to. If his mother was hurt by watching him leave, it wasn't his fault and he didn't want to see it. It wasn't his fault.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: A few weeks ago, while trying to quick-edit the first paragraph of what was meant to be Chapter 7, I realized that it was not going to work as a brief summary of events and that I'd have to re-write it into an actual scene. What was supposed to be one short scene ended up as two long ones (over 6,000 words altogether, more than enough for a chapter in and of itself).

Today I decided to just post what I have as Chapter 7 and save the rest for Chapter 8. It's not long enough right now, but I think it will be once I re-write a scene to make better sense and then add in yet more stuff that I forgot in the initial draft. So yeah, all the previous Chapter 8 stuff is now Chapter 9, and so on. There are now 11 chapters total, plus a short epilogue.


	8. Homecoming

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 8 - Homecoming **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

They loaded the children in Megumi's car, though Kenji opted to ride with Sanosuke on the bike. He did not notice when he slipped into a light doze, leaning heavily against Sanosuke's back although his steadying grasp loosened only a little.

He knew that they had been told to make themselves at home in the Himuras' house, since the girls would be more comfortable there and Megumi had ominously hinted that it would be better for Kenji to get used to the place as soon as possible. Therefore he was a little surprised when he blinked fully awake and realized that they were home - _his_ home, the neighborhood where he and Megumi had lived before his past had caught up to him.

Megumi got out of her car, and as the roar of the motorcycle's engine died, she could suddenly hear Ayame's shrill puzzled voice saying, "This isn't our house."

"We're just stopping here for a moment," Megumi said soothingly. "I have to get my medical supplies and some other things we'll need." Oops - there was the dog to feed, too. Megumi guiltily remembered this only when she heard Katana barking frantically in the back yard.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

At the sound of it, Kenji froze. "He's alive," he whispered, scrambling shakily to his feet.

"We can take him with us," Megumi said at once. There was absolutely no point in arguing against that.

Kenji barely heard; he immediately took off like a shot and vaulted over the fence. "KATANAAAAAA!"

BARK! BARK! BARK!

Megumi, Sanosuke, and the girls listened to the sudden sounds of violent snarling and yelling. "What the...?" Sanosuke frowned and clenched one hand into a fist.

"What's happening?" Ayame asked fearfully, and her sister moved to cling to Megumi's leg.

"Let's go see," Megumi suggested. When she got the gate unlocked, they all walked into the yard to find Kenji and Katana locked in what looked like a vicious battle to the death, howling and biting and clawing as if they were wild animals.

"The doggy's eating him!" Suzume shrieked, and burst into tears.

"Megumi-nee, save our brother!" Ayame begged tearfully.

"No, it's all right," Megumi assured them, and quickly put out a hand to stop Sanosuke. Even so, she found herself grinding her teeth as she watched. She _hated_ it when they did this, but there were some things in which it was better to let Kenji have his own way.

"I'll kill you," Kenji snarled, trapping the dog in a careful chokehold. "Grrrr, I'll take you apart, you little beastie." They growled into each other's faces. Then Kenji's expression slowly crumpled, and his grip turned loose and shaky. He buried his face in the russet fur. "I thought you were dead, you stupid mutt...I thought you were dead..."

Alarmed, Katana whimpered and squirmed to get Kenji's face within licking distance, the game forgotten. Kenji could not help laughing when the slobbery tongue sloshed indiscriminately over ear, hair, cheek, and mouth. "Ugh, gross! Cut it out, Katana!" he exclaimed, still crying a little even as he laughed. He half-lay there, digging his fingers deep into thick fur, roughly caressing the floppy ears and furry head he had thought he would never see again. Then he suddenly looked up and realized he had an audience. "Urk." He sat up quickly, glaring. "What?" he mumbled defensively.

"K-K-Ken-nii," Ayame blubbered, as Sanosuke rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "We were just playing."

Interested, Katana scrambled to his feet and trotted over to investigate the new arrivals, but the girls screamed and clung to Megumi.

"He's not gonna hurt you," Kenji insisted, his face coloring. "Katana! Come here!"

The dog whined, then bounded back and flung himself on Kenji, joyfully discovering complete access to the boy's face at last.

"Argh, no! _No_, Katana, down!" Kenji yelled, but perhaps the laughter in his voice was not very convincing, because Katana happily took no notice.

o.o.o.o.o

The girls were unbelievably cranky upon their arrival home, having finally succeeded in dozing off again during the ride, only to be awakened yet again only minutes later. Kenji and Sanosuke prudently kept their distance, to Megumi's extreme exasperation, bounding away to "check for bad guys" as soon as they caught on to the girls' mood. Megumi sighed and grumbled unintelligible curses under her breath as she coaxed the children up to the house and rummaged for the key Kaoru had given her.

It was dim and a little musty-smelling inside - the air conditioner had been off for too long. Megumi, however, had more important thoughts on her mind as she herded the girls along, yelling for the others to come help her get them ready for bed. Of course they dragged their feet and were no help at all.

Ayame ended up flat-out refusing dinner, ate three candy bars while Megumi was busy elsewhere, went to turn on the television, whined about the lack of good cartoons, defiantly swallowed a mouthful of toothpaste when ordered to brush her teeth, and finally fell asleep in front of the TV. Suzume wailed throughout the entire duration of the microwave's re-heating process and then complained about the choice of food, refused every single other edible item offered her, threw things across the room when ordered to eat the first choice, then fell asleep on the kitchen table while Megumi was distracted by Ayame's toothpaste fiasco.

"Megumi, I'm gonna go sleep at our house, okay?" Kenji finally told her, eyeing the girls dubiously.

Megumi...had no words. She opened her mouth, wanting to _spew_, but nothing came out - luckily, the look on her face must have been expressive enough.

"Never mind! Never mind! I'll stay right here!" Kenji yelped, holding up his hands placatingly.

"You take that one, I'll take this one," she said in a brusque tone, scooping Suzume up and heading off to put her into bed. Then came the matter of trying to get Sanosuke to stay in his guard dog post. "Leave the doors open, sit _right here_ in the hallway and don't you dare leave or fall asleep 'til tomorrow morning."

"You're crazy, woman!"

Kenji thought it would be a good time to take Katana for a walk - after all, the poor thing had been locked up all day. Unfortunately he was at the last of his strength, and barely two houses down he felt like he could not take another step. So he leaned against the side of a neighbor's house and nearly fell asleep standing up; awakened to the sounds of Katana chasing a raccoon; tore after him to get him to shut up; somehow made his way back home, and then got completely chewed out for wandering off without telling anyone. "But you were _busy_!"

"And you, among MANY other things, are _wounded_! Get in the bathroom and strip!"

"I'm hungry, I want to eat first," he whined, but That Look came back to her face and he found himself jumping to obey orders. Grumbling, he self-consciously slipped out of his sleeves and undid his belt as Megumi came in with towels and medical supplies. Then she stopped and just stared at him for a while.

"It's not that bad," he mumbled, trying to rub off some of the blood that had long since dried on his skin. It crumbled and continued to stick to him, just now in skinny little wads that made him look like he was diseased. The thought occurred to him that he himself might be the source of the distasteful smell he had kept detecting on and off over the last few hours.

"How are you still standing?" Megumi said faintly, dumping her supplies down and leaning close to his torso to inspect the worst of the injuries, which was still oozing a little.

"Well...I'm really tired," Kenji offered truthfully.

The smell of antiseptic made him want to throw up, but other than that he was able to mentally check out as she tended to him. Her touch was gentle and barely brought any bad associations; the occasional shock of pain kept trying to pull him back, but his mind, having become much better disciplined in recent months, was able to maintain his concentration. _'She's not a doctor,'_ he kept telling himself. _'It's just Megumi. It's only Megumi.'_ The worst part was when she was bandaging the raw scratch on his back, but it was not a serious injury and was taken care of quickly.

"You should really be in a hospital," Megumi grumbled as she straightened, stretching painfully before moving to pack her things away.

He didn't say anything.

Megumi shut the box with a click and sighed. Then she met his eyes for the first time since she had started working. "There's only so much I can do for you on my own. _Luckily_ for you, it's too dangerous to take you anywhere, but you really ought to have better care than I can give you."

"I trust you, Megumi," he said pointedly.

Looking sad, she leaned over and kissed him, then handed over a clean set of clothes for him to sleep in. "Get some rest, kiddo. Don't even _think_ about taking off. I'll see you in the morning."

He looked at her.

She had been moving to leave, but paused in the doorway to look back at him. "We have a lot to talk about."

"I don't want to talk about anything," he said softly.

She came back over and kissed him again, then put her arms around him and just held him for a while. "That doesn't change the fact that we have a lot to talk about," she murmured compassionately.

He held on to her and closed his eyes, resting against her warmth, breathing in her smell. "She's not my mother," he finally whispered. "You are."

He slept on the couch, because there was no way he was going to sleep in his parents' room, and Megumi wouldn't let Katana on any of the beds anyway. Kenji fell asleep right away with his face against the dog's smelly fur, but when he woke up an hour later from nightmares, his scream was silent and he lay rigid until the sky began to lighten, straining to hear the comforting sounds of his sleeping family.

o.o.o.o.o

"Yay, he's up, he's up!"

Kenji sat there, staring at nothing and feeling like a zombie. He desperately wanted to lie down again, but between Katana and the girls, whose high spirits had returned after a night's sleep, he knew such an action would be pointless. "Shut up," he mumbled unintelligibly.

"Kenji, come eat breakfast," Megumi called.

"No." Then he stared down at his stomach in surprise when it rumbled loudly. "Ugh..." With Katana close on his heels, he dragged himself off the couch and into the kitchen, where he plopped into a chair and slumped face-first over the table. Not, unfortunately, without getting a glimpse of a clock first, which displayed the numbers 7:44. "You guys are insane..." He had only managed to snatch maybe an hour or so of sleep before the girls had started jumping on him.

"Hurry up, Ken-nii!" Suzume practically screamed in his ear.

"We're ready to go see Mommy and Daddy - we're just waiting on _you_!" Ayame clamored.

"Blargh."

He heard and sensed the scrape of a bowl being slid across the table, and despite himself he lifted his head and dragged the bowl closer. Himura Kenji was not one to turn down food, and he began shoving spoonfuls into his mouth without bothering to ascertain what he was eating.

A few bites in, he noticed that Katana was politely begging. "...Look, buddy, you _know_ you're not getting any of this."

Katana tensed and licked his chops, unblinking eyes fixed on his master's.

"It's _rice_. You're a _dog_. You _don't like rice_."

Katana whined.

"Come on, boy," Megumi chuckled as she came back over. "Time to go out, let Kenji finish his breakfast."

Katana spared her a distressed glance and then whipped his attention back to Kenji.

"Katana, _go_. Go potty," Kenji ordered.

The girls picked it up at once. "Go potty, doggy! Go potty, doggy! Ha ha ha!"

"Keep it down, will ya?" Sanosuke groaned from the couch, where he had crashed soon after Kenji had vacated it. "_Some people_ are tryin' ta sleep..."

Looking confused, Katana reluctantly let Megumi and the girls pull him outside, leaving Kenji to finish eating in peace. As soon as he was done, he went to curl up in an armchair and fell instantly asleep.

What felt like the next instant later, he was shaken awake again. "Ken-nii, let's _go_," Ayame insisted, tugging at him.

He glared at her, restraining the impulse to hit her. "I'm staying here."

Her mouth fell open in surprise. "Whaaaat?"

The girls were _seriously_ getting on his nerves this morning. He sat up quickly, but then forced himself to calm down when he saw the frightened way she backed away from him. "Look, Ayame, I'm- I- the police want me." He couldn't quite bring himself to tell his little sister that up until yesterday, he had killed people for a living. "I'll get in really deep sh...in really deep doo-doo if anyone recognizes me. I have to stay home."

She stared at him for a long time reproachfully. He squirmed, and was just about to flop over and shut his eyes again when she finally said, "You could go in disguise."

"Ayame. _They'll recognize me_." You little brat, he stopped himself from adding.

Megumi came over from where she had been arguing with a very disgruntled Sanosuke ("I'm not going! In case you forgot, I've been up all night - I'm _tired_, woman." "Oh, so you don't care if something happens to the Himura kids _on your watch_, you stupid bird head?"). "Kenji," she said. "Are you sure? Even if we can't risk you going in, you can at least let Kao- your mother come out and see you. And you'll be safer if you stick with us."

"I'm _tired_," he shot back, realizing too late that he sounded just like Sanosuke. "I hurt." He poked at one of his bandages. "I'm staying home, okay?" This place was not 'home.' "I'm staying _here_."

Megumi sighed. "Why is it that I'm stuck dealing with all the stubborn babies around here...?"

Furious, Kenji flung himself back into the chair and squeezed his eyes shut. _"I am sleeping and refuse to move,"_ his body language said.

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Fine. Sagara, get up, we're leaving; girls, go out to the car. Katana!" The dog, which had been lying dolefully on the floor by the armchair, leaped to his feet and looked to Megumi for orders. "Stay and watch over Kenji."

"Bark!"

"Make sure he doesn't leave."

"Bark?"

Megumi walked back over and stared down at her adopted son, who was pointedly 'asleep.' "Did you hear that? You are going to be here when we get back."

"I'll be sleeping all day so it doesn't matter," Kenji mumbled.

Megumi sighed, reached down to lay a hand on his head, then turned around and went to herd the others out to the car.

When Kenji opened his eyes, feeling much better, he was startled to see someone sitting very close to him. He gasped and backed away at once, wincing in pain both from the sudden flaring of his injuries and the unexpected crick in his neck. "What the...?" The light, he noticed distractedly, was different; it looked like early afternoon. He had been asleep for hours. "Uh..." He could hear the girls in the kitchen, their high-pitched voices mingling with Megumi's calm tone and the sounds of a meal being prepared. Sanosuke was fast asleep on the couch as if he had never moved. "Hi," Kenji mumbled. He struggled to get out of the chair, unable to meet her eyes.

"Kenji." The warmth in her voice as she said his name made him wince. Kaoru reached out to steady him as he got to his feet, and he had to remember not to flinch away. "I was worried about you."

"I slept the whole time." Not knowing what else to say, he sat down on the floor and dug his hands into the dog's fur. Katana licked him encouragingly. He wanted to ask what she was doing here, but it would probably hurt her feelings or something.

He could feel her watching him quietly for a while, and it made him nervous. Finally she said, "He sends his love."

Kenji ground his teeth tightly together, trying to keep his emotions under control, and it wasn't until Katana yelped that he realized his grip on the poor thing was too tight. He deliberately relaxed his hands.

"We're both so glad you're back," she continued softly. She leaned down rested her head against his, her hand on his shoulder. He forced himself to be still. "Kenji, thank you. Thank you so much for being here."

"I promised, didn't I?" he said, because it seemed to be what he was supposed to say. Then, because the silence kept dragging on and on, he finally escaped with the admittedly very true, "I need to take a bath."

Afterward, Kenji found that he was ravenous for lunch - so was Sanosuke, apparently, since the man appeared swiftly at the table when called, despite having been sound asleep just seconds before.

"Mr. Bird Head looks funny," Suzume laughed, poking at the red mark on his cheek from where Sanosuke's face had been pressed against a patterned pillow.

Sanosuke forced a smile, patted her head and told her she was a _very funny_ little girl, then dug into his food so heartily that the girls were rather too awed to address him again during the meal.

Luckily, the children provided most of the chatter, since the adults seemed to have trouble making conversation. Kenji answered Kaoru's questions as shortly as possible and tried to lose himself in eating. Megumi's conversation attempts were graceful but did not seem to have much heart in them. The men occasionally locked eyes, each understanding exactly where the other was coming from: _"When can I get out of here?"_

Finally Kaoru said that she had to leave again, since she would be staying another night with her husband at the hospital. Kenji was so relieved at this that he gave her a kiss good-bye without being asked or prompted, though his feelings were an unpleasant mix as he stood at the door with his sisters and watched her walk away. _"Don't go..."_ It was as if he could hear a child's voice whispering deep within him, and he tried his best to quash it. _'I'm home now. Shut up. I'm home.'_

He looked at Megumi, his Home, and his heart sank as Sanosuke and Katana and the girls entered his line vision as well, and he was forced to acknowledge that his family had grown disturbingly large. _'Will I be able to let go of all this again if I have to?'_

It wasn't fair. He didn't want this. He had liked being alone. He didn't want this... _'I don't know what the freak I want,'_ he realized. Suddenly disgusted with himself, he called to Katana and fled outside and threw sticks and wrestled and ran until he was too exhausted to think about this stupid stuff anymore.

o.o.o.o.o

That night, Sanosuke jerked out of his doze and was halfway to his feet before he realized that it was only Ayame tiptoeing past him in the dark hallway. He squinted and rubbed at his face. "What's up?"

She froze and stared at him. Then she said in a small voice, "Are Mommy and Daddy still gone?"

"Yeah. Um...you want me to..." he racked his brain, "...get you a cup of water or something?"

Ayame stared at her feet and did not say anything.

Sanosuke sighed. "You want me to wake up Madame Fox?"

She shook her head.

Were kids always this troublesome? "You wanna sit here with me for a while?"

"No." She edged away. "Ken-nii...where's Ken-nii?"

Sanosuke jerked his head in the direction of the living room. "He's out there again. You want me to get him?"

"No, thank you," she said politely. Then she trotted away hurriedly.

Sanosuke got up and watched as the little girl moved cautiously to the couch where Kenji was curled up with the dog. Katana raised his head at her approach, perking his ears and panting in greeting. Ayame was just reaching out her hand to pet him when a thought suddenly occurred to Sanosuke. "Don't touch them! Stand back, kid. Wake him up with your voice. Stand back."

Ayame looked at him in confusion. Sanosuke sighed and went over to the couch, pushing the girl gently out of the way as he did so. "OI, KENJI!"

The boy shot upright, hand grasping automatically for his weapon. Sanosuke was glad he had remembered to warn Ayame in time. "Cool it. It's just us."

Kenji stared at the two of them for what seemed much longer than necessary before he finally relaxed. "What do you want?"

"Ken-nii, I had a bad dream," Ayame told him, sounding expectant.

"Oh. You did?" Kenji said warily.

Ayame was already climbing onto the couch with him. "Tell me a story," she commanded as she snuggled into his chest (which hurt, judging by the look on his face). The couch was not particularly large, and she looked as if she might fall off again at any moment; Katana had been forced to shift to the far end by Kenji's feet.

"Huh? Why should I-?"

Sanosuke shoved him.

Kenji glared, then rolled his eyes and amended, "If I tell you a story, will you go to sleep again?"

"Yes," she said, frowning as if he had said something unintelligent.

"In _your_ bed?"

"Huh? No, I want to sleep with you! Tell me a story."

Kenji gave Sanosuke an 'Is this for real?' look, and the man responded with a grin as he held up his hands and backed away.

"Ugh...whatever...okay, once upon a time."

Ayame closed her eyes in contentment, a fold of his shirt clutched in her fist.

"Once upon a time there was...uh...a dog." Katana licked his ankle; Kenji yelped in surprise. "Um, the dog...went...to the store, and...bought clothes?"

_'Why are you making it sound like a question?'_ Sanosuke thought in amusement.

"Why did the doggy buy clothes?" Ayame asked sleepily.

Kenji rolled his eyes again. "Because he was...going to a party. He wanted to look fancy."

"A birthday party?"

"Dogs don't have birthday parties."

The girl opened her eyes. "They don't wear clothes either."

"Fine! He didn't buy clothes, he bought...I don't know...cigarettes."

Ayame regarded her brother gravely. "Your stories aren't as good as the ones Mommy tells."

"Then go back to bed!"

Immediately she squeezed her eyes shut again and latched onto him. "No, I want to hear the story!"

The continuation of Kenji's story was no better than its beginning, but luckily he did not have to go on long before it had done its work.

About an hour later, the peace of the house was disturbed by Suzume's crying. Sanosuke sighed, went in to check on her, and found her sitting straight up in bed, wailing as if her heart would break. At the sight of him, she screamed.

"For crying out loud, just bring her in here," Kenji's voice called sleepily from the living room.

o.o.o.o.o

Megumi woke up while it was still dark, about an hour before the time set on her alarm. Too stressed out and uncomfortable to try to go back to sleep again, she rolled out of bed and started to reach for her bathrobe, then grimaced. The air conditioner must have broken down some time in the night; it was stiflingly hot. She changed into something decent but breathable, then tiredly went out in search of coffee before investigating the state of the A/C. On the way to the kitchen, noticing that Sanosuke (who was shirtless...) had fallen asleep sitting against the wall, she gave him a little kick; he grunted, but did not otherwise react.

The situation in the living room first startled and then fascinated her. A heap of small dragons - that is, they actually all fit inside the room - were huddled silently together in a tangle of limbs and necks and wings, their sides heaving regularly as they breathed. The largest - Kenji, she realized with a jolt - just managed to fit, curled up, with all the furniture shoved against the walls. The two smaller ones were nestled close to him, occasionally twitching in their sleep.

Katana came slinking out of the kitchen, whining as he pressed against Megumi's legs. She reached down to pat his head. "First time for you too, huh?" The heat was nearly suffocating, though she realized now that the air conditioner had been running all along. Well, not surprising when there were three dragons crammed into a small space.

Kenji's eyes suddenly opened, and Megumi stood there staring, riveted. She had never seen him like this before. It was unsettling to look at this looming creature with deep red scales, and know that it was really the boy she loved as a son. Except that she could not force her mind to make the connection - her instincts kept screaming at her to flee, and it was all she could do for a minute to remain still, her hand tightly gripping the cowering dog.

The jewel-bright eyes narrowed, and low rumbling began to shake the room. Megumi tensed. Then she deliberately forced herself forward, step by step, even after Katana fled. The dragon tucked his scaled head out of sight, as if protecting himself from...what? Her disappointment, her disgust? Somehow it gave her the courage to close the last of the distance between them and place her hand on those scales. The heat of his body seeped quickly into her palm, but she did not move. "Kenji," she said softly.

A shudder passed through him, and she instinctively jerked her hand away. Yet it was merely the beginning of his transformation - she watched as his size dwindled, scales softened to flesh, claws to fingers, the red color gathering away into his hair. He sat on the floor, bracing his arms on the ground as he glared up at her. His eyes, though they were smaller now, were the only part of him that otherwise remained exactly the same.

The loss of his body mass sent the two little ones sprawling, where they snorted and blinked awake. At the sight of Megumi, they leaped to their feet and pranced around her for a minute before suddenly regaining human form and asking if they could have doughnuts for breakfast.

"Of course not. Hurry and go make your beds; I'll cook something in a minute."

After the girls had scampered off, Kenji wrapped his arms around his knees and glared at the floor, grumbling in a hurt voice, "You're afraid of me."

She crouched down next to him and propped her chin on her hand. "Dragons eat people, you know. Don't I get some credit for not running away from my fearsome child?"

After a minute, he crawled over to her, closed his teeth gently on the flesh of her neck and then mumbled, "Yeah, I'll eat you, crunch you up to pieces. Then I won't have to care about you anymore." She put her arms around him and held him until Katana ventured back into the living room.

The dog crept across the floor, whining at the strong smell of dragon that still lingered in the room, but when he reached Kenji he was so adamant to lick and nuzzle and paw at his master to make sure that he was all right, that Megumi lost her hold. She laughed and patted both boy and dog on their heads before getting up to go start breakfast.

While they ate, with Sanosuke teasing the kids about overheating the house, Megumi asked what they had been doing.

"Couldn't sleep," Ayame explained matter-of-factly, mashing her boiled egg into an unappetizing-looking paste. "When Suzume came, we turned into dragons and Ken-nii sent us happy thoughts 'til we fell asleep again."

"'Ken-nii sent you happy thoughts,'" Sanosuke echoed, sounding confused.

"I saw a puppy," Suzume announced. "It looked like a baby Katana." She patted the dog, who wagged his tail happily.

"It _was_ Katana," Kenji grumbled, right before stuffing his mouth so full that he would not have to speak again any time soon. He was hunched deeply in his chair, his eyes completely hidden behind his hair.

"Oh! I knew it!" Ayame cried. "And the mommy lady you showed us was Megumi-nee, and the motorcycle man was Mr. Bird Head! Duh!"

"Princesses," Suzume added. "They wore pink and blue dresses, and they twirled."

"That would be Sleeping Beauty, I bet," Sanosuke said dryly. "So, you like, sent _memories_ into their brains?"

"Dragons can do that," Ayame told him importantly. She paused. "But only when we're dragons, 'cause it hurts to try to talk human with a dragon mouth."

She suddenly slipped out of her chair and transformed. Sanosuke shot to his feet and bit off a surprised exclamation. He and Megumi watched as the two children, both dragons now, thrummed at each other and beat their wings. A second later, Kenji shoved away from the table and took his meal away to eat outside with Katana.

The girls quickly shifted back so that they could ask worriedly, "What's wrong with Ken-nii?"

"Hm...I think maybe dragons make him uncomfortable," Megumi said awkwardly, her thoughts still reeling about the idea of mind-to-mind communication.

"But Ken-nii is a dragon, too," Suzume protested.

Ayame was frowning. "Maybe there really are bad things behind the wall."

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

The girl looked up at Megumi seriously. "Ken-nii's mind has a humongous wall in front, even bigger than Daddy's. He had to take the puppies and princesses and stuff out through a gate. I think there's bad things behind the wall. Maybe that's why he doesn't like dragons."

"I think you're right," Megumi said slowly. It would explain some things.

"My head hurts," Sanosuke said flatly. "Can we talk about something normal now?"

Like the day before, Sanosuke accompanied Megumi and the girls to the hospital, leaving Kenji alone at the house. Unlike the day before, Kenji did not spend the entire time sleeping. Tying up his hair and donning a hat, makeup, and tinted glasses, he went out to buy something from the nearest convenience store; then he splashed and cursed in the bathroom as Katana lay unhappily just outside the doorway, occasionally sneezing at the harsh smells.

The phone rang only once, at a moment when Kenji had just dropped the box and both hair clips on the floor and was in no mood to answer it. However, when he heard the voice leaving a message on the answering machine, he yelped happily and dashed to grab the phone before it was too late, slipping on a puddle as he did so. He ended up in a tangle of towel and water and dog and phone cord on the floor, but he had been in time - "Yeah, come on over! Everyone else is gone, but I'll be here."

So it was that the others came home to a couple of unexpected developments. "What did you do to your _hair_?" Megumi squawked, more out of surprise and motherly indignation than actual displeasure. Kenji actually looked very handsome with short black hair.

"I like it this way," Kenji said defiantly as both his mothers came over to fuss with his hair, patting it and running their hands through it and inspecting the chin-length tips with what he thought was entirely unnecessary intensity. He felt like a girl trying on wedding dresses or something, what with the sudden tense desperation for their approval - which was _stupid_, because he'd done this for _himself_, not for them. "Now I look Japanese instead of like a freak."

Kaoru finally smiled, knowingly and a little sadly, and patted his shoulder. "Yes. I'm sure that looking Japanese is a high priority for you."

Kenji's small blush flared crimson as Ayame added disapprovingly, "You don't look like Daddy anymore."

_'That's the point, brat.'_

"You really don't," Kaoru said thoughtfully, looking into his face. She would never tire of looking at his face. "You really don't look like him at all except for the eyes, and your build." And the scars.

"Well...well, good."

"Any chance of getting an introduction any time soon?"

That was Sanosuke, the only one who had not been drawn to Kenji's new hairstyle like a moth to flame. He was instead gazing at the woman standing hesitantly just inside the kitchen, his stance wary.

"It's her!" Ayame shrieked. Suzume burst into tears and clung to her mother's leg. Kaoru held on to both her girls and did not trust herself to speak.

"Um...Kiyosato Tomoe-san, right?" Megumi said uncertainly, glancing between Kenji and his family.

The young man seemed perfectly at ease, even happy. "Tomoe-nee called earlier," Kenji explained. "I told her she could come. But, hey, she said that she found out our address from Saitou, so I was thinking I should-" He paused, suddenly realizing that he should probably keep this to himself for now. "Never mind."

"Please forgive me for the intrusion," Tomoe said in a low voice. "I learned that Kenshin-san was hurt. I..."

"She brought FOOD," Kenji told them almost rapturously. Then he paused, a slightly guilty expression crossing his face. "I, er, ate most of it already, but...hey, there's a few cookies left. You want them, Ayame? Suzume?"

"Ken-nii, she cut your face," Ayame said in a small voice.

Kenji paused, startled, as if learning new information. Then he smiled a little and turned to Tomoe, putting a hand absently to his left cheek. "Yeah. Way to go, Neesan; now I'll never be popular with girls."

"Somehow, I do not think you will have a problem with that," she answered, her face inscrutable.

It angered Kaoru that all could be forgiven so easily between them, that her son trusted a woman who had hurt him more than he trusted his own mother - but then Kenji took hold of her hand and tugged her into the kitchen, chattering about something, and somehow the very carelessness of his gesture was soothing, that he would be able to reach for her in such a way.

"Look, well, there's only crumbs left, but that was the best..._something_ ever ate. I think there was octopus in it."

"You didn't even find out what it was before you ate it?" Sanosuke said indignantly. "That's no way to appreciate a woman's cooking, idiot kid!"

"Sorry! Tomoe-nee, I'm sorry," Kenji said, both sincere and playful. "If you make it for me again, I promise to ask what it is before I eat it."

"Perhaps you might permit me to teach you how to prepare it yourself."

"Aw...I'm not much of a cook, but...whatever, sounds fun."

"Hey, _some of us_ are still introduction-less here," Sanosuke pointed out. "This lady is...?"

"I was captured at the same time Kenji was," she explained.

"She's what kept me from going completely crazy in that place," Kenji added, beginning the comment in the confident tone he had been using, but suddenly dropping in volume and looking away uncomfortably. Tomoe briefly laid her hand over his, and he smiled at her.

"In that case I should thank you, Tomoe-san," Kaoru said stiffly. _'I'll try,'_ was what she wanted to say. _'I feel like I can't forgive you, but I'll try, for Kenji's sake.'_

"I honor you, you and your family, for the sacrifices you were forced to make."

Kaoru was not the only one to notice the sorrow in Tomoe's eyes - Kenji cut in loudly, "WELL, you guys haven't eaten yet, and I won't say no to more food; what are we having for lunch?"

Kenji seemed giddy and restless during the meal, chattering uncharacteristically until someone, usually Sanosuke, would give him a strange look. Then he would fall silent for a time, then suddenly either pounce on Katana for being the "best doggy in the world" or jabber at Tomoe or tease one of the girls, and as soon as he finished bolting his food down, he looked as if he would be physically incapable of remaining in his seat for longer than two more minutes.

"Kenji," Megumi finally suggested, "Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan look like they could use some sunshine. Why don't you take them and Katana out for a walk?"

He shot out of his chair immediately. "Awesome."

"Don't wanna go for a walk," Ayame snapped crankily. Suzume started crying again as she got out of her chair and headed straight to the front door to get her shoes, sobbing the whole way. Megumi and Kaoru shared a look that, for once, held the exact same thought - the girls were upset at Tomoe's presence and confused by their brother's reaction to her, and they needed time to process their feelings.

"Yes, you do," Kenji informed his sister, scooping her up over one shoulder and then staggering briefly as her weight sent pain shooting through his injuries. He put her down again quickly as Katana danced around them, barking.

"I'm not going!" Ayame screamed.

Kenji, having no clue how to deal with her and in the wrong mood to try, simply whirled away to slather more makeup over his scars. Ayame watched him intently as he did this and then went to grip Tomoe's shoulders from behind, looming over her with a sort of menacing affection. "Neesan," he murmured to her in a pleased, half-wild growl, "Neesan, I'm _alive_."

She turned her head a little towards him. "You've done well to survive so far," she said softly. "Now _live_."

"Yes! I have to run now." He spun back the other way and flung himself out the door, with Katana racing frantically after him.

"Ken-nii, WAIT!" Ayame shrieked, rushing to catch up as well. "Ken-nii, Ken-nii, Ken-nii!"

"Can't catch me!"

"KEN-NII!"

"Run, Ayame!" he called over his shoulder. "Use your stubby little legs!"

"Mommy, MAKE HIM WAIT!"

Their voices were fading quickly; Kaoru, who was not going to be left behind, had to hurry with Suzume to catch up with them.

The others watched them go. Megumi clenched her hands tightly to try to keep the pain and resentment at bay. It wasn't reasonable of her. It wasn't fair, to anyone, including herself. But it _hurt_, trying to give Kenji up to someone else, and she didn't think she could do it. It was all she could do to stay seated and not hurry after them.

She was surprised when Sanosuke came to her rescue, though of course he had no idea how welcome the distraction from her own thoughts was. "So, obviously I'm only the bodyguard, and don't warrant any explanations, but does anyone just happen to _feel_ like volunteering some info here...?"

Tomoe looked at him, and he shivered a little, not recognizing the goodwill hidden in her expression. "I will explain, Sagara-san. My maiden name was Yukishiro. My brother-"

"Yukishi-? Wait, just a- That would mean-!"

"Sagara," Megumi said sweetly, "are you sure you want those explanations, or would you rather keep sputtering like an idiot?"

He shot her a glare, though with no heat. "Woman..."

Megumi smiled. "Please continue, Kiyosato-san."

o.o.o.o.o

When the Himuras got back to the house, the girls seemed subdued and tired, though no longer upset. Kaoru had her arm lightly around Kenji, who seemed very uncomfortable at the contact but no longer bouncing off the walls. He broke away from her as soon as they reached the front walk and came into the house, stopping short at the sight of Megumi, Sanosuke, and Tomoe looking as if they had been interrupted in the middle of an intense conversation.

"What were you talking about?" Kenji asked belligerently.

"You," Megumi and Sanosuke answered at the same time, teasingly (though truthfully). They looked at each other in surprise.

"Poor Kenji, he had such a horrible childhood, let's all be nice to him," Kenji mocked in a whiny, high-pitched voice.

"Something like that," Sanosuke scoffed. He stood up and stretched, then went over and began propelling Kenji across the house to the back door without breaking stride. "Let's go spar or something; I'm bored out of my freaking mind. All I wanted to do was track down you and Shishio, but somehow I ended up with a long-term baby-sitting job."

"I think you're good at it," Kenji told him, grinning.

Sanosuke snorted. The two of them disappeared into the backyard as Kaoru and the girls came into the dining room.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Megumi asked.

"A little hectic," Kaoru admitted. "But I wouldn't have traded it for the world."

"I know what you mean," Megumi said softly.

Kaoru suddenly wanted to cry.

Tomoe rose to her feet, picking up her teacup to take to the sink as she did so. "I will take my leave," she said quietly. "Thank you, Kaoru-san."

"Tomoe-san...thank you." It was hard to say, but now she was able to mean it more than she had earlier.

Suzume was still hiding behind her mother, but Ayame came hesitantly up to Tomoe, her fists clenched and her expression wounded. "T...Tomoe-nee...please don't hurt my brother again. Okay?"

Tomoe knelt so that they were looking into each other's faces. "Will you forgive me, Ayame-chan?"

Ayame burst into tears and threw her arms around the woman. Tomoe held her close, her eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to suppress tears. Guilt at having betrayed the girl's trust was tinged with the feel of the child in her arms and a sudden pang of familiar longing for children of her own.

"I'll forgive you, just don't hurt Ken-nii again," Ayame sobbed. "Be nice like you were before, okay?"

"Yes." She pulled back and smiled, which was when the tears came. Perhaps that was a good thing, for at the sight of them Ayame finally smiled as well, and they exchanged watery gazes as the tentative beginnings of trust slowly began to seep back in.

o.o.o.o.o

Late the next night, Saitou Hajime got home to find three people occupying his apartment, rather than just two. "...What is this."

Tokio smiled brilliantly. "I had to let him in. The poor thing was screaming outside the door."

"Are you kidding? I was NOT!"

"Inside joke. Chill," Eiji muttered. He was sipping noisily from a cup and trying hard to pretend that he wasn't wildly fascinated by the fact that a known assassin was sitting two feet away from him.

"I'm not a 'poor thing,' and all I did was knock," Kenji grumbled.

Saitou rubbed absently at his temple. This already long night looked as if it was going to get a lot longer. "I was unaware of the necessity of stating the obvious fact that showing your face anywhere in public, much less in the home of a police chief, is an _unwise move_," Saitou said, very pointedly.

Kenji shifted restlessly. "Look, Mom and, uh, Mom will kill me when they find out I snuck out to come here, but at least hear me out before you try to arrest me or something."

Saitou flung his necktie onto the arm of a chair and then stalked into the kitchen, forcing Kenji to follow him like an anxious puppy. "Look...Saitou."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're not here."

"Thanks. Um. You see..."

Tokio came breezing into the kitchen, where she effortlessly tugged Kenji along with her as she went to cuddle her husband's shoulder coaxingly. "Don't you love what Kenji's done with his hair? It was beautiful before, but he does look quite dashing now, don't you think?"

Saitou poured himself a drink and tipped it down his throat without answering. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eiji edge into the room, no longer able to completely conceal his interest in the proceedings. The sudden impression that his tired sulking had an audience made Saitou even more irritable. "You're not completely stupid. Therefore I hope my assumption is correct that you have an exceedingly good reason to be here."

"...You knew where I was," Kenji said quietly. "You know what's going on. You're the one who told Tomoe-nee that...that my father got hurt, and where to find us. It's only a matter of time. I'm just asking for...well, I don't know exactly how long, but I'm just asking for you to wait until Himura - until Dad - is strong enough to fight again."

Saitou finally glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in unimpressed inquiry.

Kenji took a deep breath. "We're going to need your help. Me and Sano and Dad...I don't think...we're going to be enough."

For the first time, their eyes met full on. Then Saitou turned away and poured another glass, though this time with deliberate refinement. "Shishio."

Kenji smiled, relieved. "Yeah. Lucky for us you can use a sword...suits you, by the way, even if you _are_ an old-fashioned codger. Definitely'll come in handy, so brush up on those skills while you're waiting for us to heal, okay?"

"I'm going to take a bath," Saitou grumped, handing the bottle and glass to his wife to take care of. "My work day is over."

"I'll be out of your hair by the time you get out, I promise."

"Make sure to take your time, darling," Tokio called after her husband as he stalked away. "I haven't seen this boy in years, and we're not finished catching up!" She smiled back at Kenji. "He really does like you. Even Eiji couldn't have gotten away with the 'old-fashioned codger' comment."

Kenji rubbed a hand distractedly through his hair, and was startled once again at the absence of length. That was going to take some getting used to. "Aunt Tokio...he's gonna help, right?"

"Don't worry," she said, affectionately brushing a stray piece of lint off his shoulder. "Hajime-san won't abandon you. He knows how important this is."

Kenji paused. Then he leaned in close to Tokio, not touching her, but taking comfort in her nearness. "Auntie, is it...how bad is it that I - still - that I..."

She waited patiently.

"...Shishio-sama...I mean, that man...he was my _master_. Even the thought of opposing him now - my throat gets all tight, and - I..."

She stroked his shoulder, with such a lack of consciousness that it never occurred to him to feel uncomfortable. "It's hard for you, isn't it."

"Makes me seem like such a baby," he grumbled.

"What do you think about it?" she asked gently. "What's important to you? What's the right thing to do?"

He let her hug her now as he thought about it. He already knew, of course - that's why he had come here. Yet he lingered over the decisions, worrying, knowing exactly what he planned to do and still worrying. Shishio was strong, and even now Kenji still admired him. He had learned to love and respect his master; loyalty and obedience had been instilled in him. And there was Yahiko and Anji and Chou, friends he had made, people who had given him, strangely enough, good memories. Yet, underlying all that was fear, and an ugly uncertainty. Every hour in that place had been like walking on the edge of a cliff - one slip, and you'd fall. It had been an awful way to live.

On the other hand, there was his "real" family. There was Megumi, who truly meant the world to him. Sano, who had become so important to him; and now...a mother and a father, two small sisters, all whom he didn't want, all whom he felt irresistibly drawn to. There was terrible fear in that, too; uncertainty and a frantic sense of future loss. Still...it was different. So different, completely different. If there were only the two cliffs to choose from, Kenji...thought...that he wanted to throw himself down that one. Family. It would still hurt like hell, but...maybe he wouldn't be so lonely at the bottom.

"Auntie," he whispered. "I'm strong, right?" _Am I strong enough? Can I do this?_

He heard the almost soundless exhalation of her smile. "Kenji, do you know that I remember our first meeting as vividly as if it were only a few days ago?"

Kenji groaned and pulled away from her. "Oh, gosh...do you still have the scar?"

Tokio smilingly presented her hand, which was still marked by a faint curving line of dots, just slightly darker than the surrounding skin.

Kenji swore unhappily. "Yeah, I guess anyone would remember getting bit by a rabid dragon..."

"You were not rabid, and you were perfectly human at the time."

He fidgeted. "I...actually transformed my teeth, you know," he confessed. "Just a little. When people touched me, I wanted to _hurt_ them."

"I would, too, if I were in your place."

"Aunt Tokio..."

Her face. Her expression. Kenji had never met anyone with such _warmth_, such love that just...came beaming out of her eyes, even if you were a complete stranger. He couldn't get enough of it.

"Kenji, my dear, I thought you were the most amazing child I had ever seen. Your eyes were..." She paused, searching for the right word. "On _fire_. It was like I could see your spirit shining through your eyes, and it took my breath away. I knew that you were going to become a great man."

Kenji spread his arms as if to present himself. "Sorry, Auntie. All you got is me."

She pushed his head in exasperation. "Silly thing! I'm praising you, in case I didn't make it clear enough."

"Yeah, I'm pretty incredible," he said bitterly, trying and failing to joke. His chest felt tight.

"We all saw it from the beginning," Tokio said gently. "I knew that if we could give you enough love to grow in, we would watch you break free and become who you were meant to be."

"What if you're wrong?" he said harshly, his eyes desperately searching hers. "What if all of you...have these - _expectations_ of me that I won't fill? What if I-" _disappoint you, screw up, prove I'm the worthless failure I know I am, _"-What if I can't do what _you_ all think is the right thing?" His eyes suddenly flashed. "What if I don't _want_ to?"

Tokio looked straight at him, and she said, "I trust you."

Kenji stared at her. Then he swore, unable to control a nervous smile. "You guys make it really, really hard."

"We'd be disappointed if you took the easy way," she said briskly. "You're worth more than that. Now-"

"Yeah, I know, I heard it." Kenji cast an apprehensive grin at the bathroom door, behind which he had just heard the water being shut off. "I gotta go, Auntie." She inclined her face, and he obligingly kissed her good-bye on the cheek. As he passed Eiji on the way to the door, he paused and studied the boy a moment, then smiled. "See ya around, kid."

Eiji stared back, his expression serious. "Maybe not."

"Huh?"

Tokio came up and put one hand on Eiji's shoulder, the other on Kenji's. "Kenji...Eiji is leaving us at the end of the week. We found a...place for him, in one of the foster homes."

"I _told_ you not to cry," Eiji suddenly snarled at her. "I _told_ you!" He looked upset, but did not resist when Tokio suddenly wrapped her arms around him, unable to speak.

Kenji stood there, his mind blank for a minute. "Huh," he said musingly.

When Tokio had straightened again, he looked back at Eiji. "Oi, did Saitou teach you how to fight any?"

"A little bit," Eiji mumbled. "I can take care of myself."

Kenji smiled a little, and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You're a good guy."

"Of course I am." Eiji looked like he was about to cry.

"Tell me where you're moving, I'll keep an eye on you."

"Uh huh."

"...Oi, Eiji."

"..."

Kenji moved closer. "They don't go away, you know," he said softly. "You can't lose them. Even when you try...your family always just keeps chasing after you."

"Yeah," Eiji managed.

"Eiji-chan, please give me more time," Tokio burst out. "He's almost relented. Hajime-san won't abandon you, I'm sure of it."

Eiji eyed her, then Kenji, and then stared at his feet. His hands tightened into fists. Then he suddenly sucked in a breath and threw his arms around Tokio, clutching her tightly.

Kenji watched them, trying to figure out his feelings. He could see how much they loved each other, how much they wanted to protect each other and be together. Megumi was strongly in his thoughts, but he could not help remembering his father and mother as well. _'I should...at least...give her the chance. It wasn't her fault. Just like me. It wasn't her fault either. Or...or his.'_ He wished he could make himself accept that, get it into his thick skull instead of having it float unconvincingly around the outside. _'It _wasn't their fault_. Why can't I believe that? Why can't I let her be my mother, too? Why can't I let him be my...father?'_

He had never had a father. The closest had been Saitou and then Shishio, and now everyone was expecting him to just tear his loyalty out by the roots and offer it up to some womanly fool he had never even met except for the night he had tried to kill him. _'You are not my father, Himura Kenshin!'_

"Kenji, are you all right?" Tokio was looking at him, even as she comforted her foster-son.

"I'm fine," Kenji snapped. "Though I won't be if your husband catches me still here, so I'm out. See you." He turned his back, yanked the door open, plunged through it, and disappeared into the night.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: I had a lot of trouble with the final scene of this chapter, which is partly why it took me so long to update. A little odd, since the scene involved the two characters in this fic who like me the best. Kenji got frustrated and told me the script sucked; even Tokio mildly suggested that it wasn't working and we ought to change something. I think she's the one who came up with the "I trust you" line that finally broke through my writing incompetence. (Which I realized, when quick-editing, she had actually borrowed from Kenji and Megumi's scene earlier. ^^; But whatever; I think it still works.)

**This was a pretty transitional chapter - again, I was trying to fit in a lot of stuff that had not made it into the initial draft.** **Everything except the beginning of the chapter is either new material or was completely re-written.** I apologize if it seemed boring or too slow or meandering; I'll make an attempt to tighten it up for the final draft.

Also, I'm a bit annoyed at myself - I was looking at the manga's final epilogue again recently (where the Kenshingumi get together for a picnic), and realized that Kenji actually has brown hair, not auburn. Which makes sense. But Kenji with dark red hair is cooler, which is why I let the OVAs trick me. YET ANOTHER REASON TO HATE THE OVAS, HAH. *eyeroll* Whatever; I need Kenji to have Kenshiney hair in this fic, but in new stories I'll go with canon.

(Random) Also also, Saitou keeps frustrating me about alcoholic beverages. This is now the _second_ time I've impulsively handed him a drink, and then was rudely reminded that when Saitou drinks, he has a tendency to want to kill people. (As he says in volume 7 with his creepy/cute Fujita Goroh smile.) So, yeah; what he's drinking in the kitchen there is most likely not alcohol.


	9. Family

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 9 - Family **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

A/N: I apologize for the long wait. My new job has kept me ridiculously busy, and there's no signs of it slowing down yet... *wince*

o.o.o

Something was...off. Kenji couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but it was making him nervous - particularly since even Megumi seemed to be in on it. "You're the only one I can trust, little guy," he told Katana. Katana panted at him happily.

Kenji thought about it as they walked along, the dog rushing this way and that to investigate things, the boy deep in thought. (He always had to sneak out when he wanted to be alone - his family liked to throw fits whenever he tried to step out of the house without an escort.) His mother, the "real" one, was the one he couldn't figure out the most...yeah, he understood that she wanted to be with him, that the anxiety he always sensed in her was because she wanted to smother him but was, in a very nice way (now that he thought about it), trying to hold back for his sake. It's just that he didn't..._know_ her, didn't know how to read or understand her words and her actions very well, wasn't able to _predict_ her like he was with Megumi and Sano and even the girls.

Which was fine. Of course it was going to be like that at first. It's just that...he hated it, those times when he seemed to catch her plotting, with one or more of the others; speaking together in hushed voices, falling abruptly silent when he came in. It made him feel edgy, like he wanted to bolt. He _would_ bolt, if she ever gave him the slightest reason to. It also hurt, that Megumi and especially Sano would keep secrets from him. It was beginning to feel like the entire world was against him, and the only ally he could depend on was his dumb dog.

"Get _out_ of there, Katana, geez!" Kenji had to grab Katana's collar and forcibly drag him away from the insect-infested bird corpse. "No doggy kisses tonight," he said firmly, "unless you wanna mouthful of soap first."

"Bark!" Katana reported obliviously, almost managing to slop a kiss up his master's face.

Shaking his head, Kenji dragged Katana along and didn't let go until the dog found something else to engage his attention. Maybe he should have brought a leash after all...if nothing else, someone was gonna pass by in a minute and see him and yell at him for wandering around with an unleashed dog. It always amused Kenji how neighbors whose names he had started to learn could talk to him like he was just a normal kid, and have no idea that he was anyone of particular note. _'If they knew, they'd run screaming.'_ It was a nice thought, that maybe he hadn't become completely pathetic yet.

Anyway. "Mother's" plotting. If she even _was_ plotting, which he couldn't be sure of; but it certainly freaking looked that way.

Of course, it might just be something to do with dear old Daddy.

"I swear, I'm not going to be there when you get home," Kenji mumbled. "I'm not going to be there...I don't want to see you..." Not like it would make much difference. Kenji had nowhere else to go, couldn't run away from home unless he was absolutely desperate. He wouldn't be able to put it off forever, having to look Himura Kenshin in the face and...and take whatever he found there. "Katanaaaaa," he whined, as if his dog could save him.

"Bark! BARK, BARK!"

"Ugh, it's just a squirrel, dummy."

"BARK! BARK!"

"I'm leaving you behind," Kenji threatened playfully, passing straight on without looking back.

Katana menaced the squirrel for a little longer until he finally noticed, incredulously, that his master was getting farther and farther away. "Bark! Bark!" Master wasn't coming back. Did Master not realize how important this was? "Bark!" Torn, Katana whined for a minute, twisted up to look at the squirrel again, then away to look at Kenji. Squirrel, Kenji; squirrel, squirrel, "Bark!" Kenji, "Bark! Bark!"

"Hi," Kenji greeted as his dog came hurtling up, dancing in circles around him. "You ready to head back now, buddy?"

Kaoru was in the back yard with the girls when he got home, running them through their kata. She gave Kenji a Look that actually made him squirm, but she said nothing. "Sorry," he mumbled at her anyway. He wasn't sure if she even heard.

The lecture ended up coming from Megumi. "Not safe blah blah blah could have recognized blah blah why don't you listen to blah di bladdi blah next time there will be consequenseblah!"

"Okay," he agreed, and kissed her, on an impulse.

Megumi blinked. "Oh." For just one second, she looked pleased. Then she sort of glanced uneasily at Kaoru (whose attention now seemed firmly fixed on the girls), and Kenji's heart sank. Megumi started to speak, but he gently laid his hand over her mouth and then began trudging over to Kaoru.

It took him a full minute to reach her, ambling and stalling; when he finally drew near, she could not pretend to be preoccupied any more and was actually waiting for him, with her arms crossed. It had seemed like a disapproving gesture at first, but now it suddenly struck Kenji that it also looked a little self-protective. For some reason that made it slightly easier to move in close and kiss her as well. "I love you," he added for good measure. "Mom."

She hugged him silently. He let her, standing there waiting for her to finish. With his eyes peering over her shoulder, the only thing to look at was Ayame and Suzume, who were staring at him intently. For a long time they locked gazes, and then Ayame giggled.

"What're you lookin' at?" he growled.

Kaoru shifted and pull back, glancing at him questioningly. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," he mumbled. "I'm gonna go...take a bath or something."

He turned to go, but her hand lingered in his hair and caught a little when he tried to pull away. "Kenji."

He stiffened.

"We're bringing Kenshin home tomorrow."

He paused, trying to pick something to say. There were a lot of things to choose from, rushing through his mind and making his heart pound. But it was taking too long, and he didn't know which one was what he really wanted to say, so finally he just tugged free and stalked back to the house without looking back.

o.o.o.o.o

Kaoru went alone to the hospital, since the girls whined so much about not wanting to go. Kenji found this odd, until he noticed that he could not get away from them.

They trailed him the entire morning, insisting that he play with them or talk to them or even, when they got desperate, _train_ or _study_ with them. It was not until Kenji caught sight of Megumi's knowing smile that he realized he was under guard. The girls had known! Somehow, they had sensed that he would run away if they let him out of their sight, and now Kenji wanted to slap them.

"Ken-nii, look at my picture of Katana!"

"It sucks," Kenji told her. Ayame hit him (which hurt, because of the colored pencil in her hand) and demanded that he tell her she was the best drawer in the world. Suzume went shrieking to Megumi that "Ken-nii said a bad word!"

"I'm going for a walk," Kenji announced sourly.

The girls were good. He had underestimated them - or else they just had excellent luck. Both of them managed to catch him just when he was in the middle of rising, and at the most off-balance; they hurled themselves at his legs to knock him back to the ground and then sat on his back and pulled on his hair, screaming "Tickle fight!"

Kenji wanted to tear the heads off their dolls and _then_ slap them.

About fifteen minutes later, Kenji heard the sound of a car pulling up outside, and he froze. He did not resist when Ayame seized the opportunity to squirm out of his grip and fling herself over his back; he grunted, but did not otherwise respond. He wanted to tell the girls to shut up and let him listen, but it didn't matter - he knew what was coming.

Ayame and Suzume finally picked up on the fact that their parents had arrived once they heard the commotion at the front door. They perked up alertly to listen, but even then they did not leave their post. It was only when Megumi came into the living room that they scampered joyfully away to greet their father.

Kenji immediately got to his feet and headed for the guest room where Megumi had been staying. She followed him, slipping inside just before he shut the door. He stood there for a little while, breathing hard. Then he turned around to face her and said through gritted teeth, "I'm not going out there."

Megumi had sat down on his bed and was gazing at him. "Kenji. He's your father. You wouldn't go near him at the hospital, you sent him there in the first place. Haven't you done enough?"

His head came up, eyes flashing, and the two of them glared at each other.

"I hate him," he finally murmured.

"That's a lie," she responded immediately.

He reacted as if she had slapped him, slumping against the door and covering his face with his hands. "I'm afraid of him," he whispered. He would have admitted it only to Megumi, only in a moment like this.

Megumi's face softened, and she came forward to gently pull his hands away from his face. "That's not true either," she said softly.

He put his face on her shoulder, still holding her hands, feeling like a five-year-old wanting comfort. She let him stay there for a minute, but then sighed and pulled away, laughing a little at his accusing expression. "Kenji," she said affectionately, "please be brave. I know you can do this."

He ground his teeth uncertainly, searching her face. "He'll be mad at me," he tried.

"Now you're just whining," she said briskly. "You know I've never had patience for your excuses, kiddo."

He found himself grinning sheepishly against his will, and whined some more in protest when she opened the door and physically pushed him out.

No longer in private, their smiles died at once. Kenji started to withdraw sullenly behind his bangs, but then paused.

The house was in a complete bustle. Sanosuke seemed to be back from wherever he had disappeared to this morning, his arms full of what seemed to be shopping bags as he talked loudly to Kaoru and Kenshin. Kaoru, also armed with shopping bags, was unloading them in the kitchen and dining room, and the girls were gushing happily to their father as he settled into a comfortable chair. Kenshin was smiling as he responded to his daughters good-humoredly.

No one seemed to take notice of Kenji at first. Kenshin did not even turn his head or make any other acknowledgement of his son's presence - even though a man of his capabilities _had_ to have sensed him. Kenji breathed in and out, again and again, waiting, waiting, then slowly relaxed as he finally realized that he was being let off the hook, at least for now. In a way, it also made him just the tiniest bit sad, though he was much more relieved than sad. _'Thank you,'_ he found himself thinking. That, and the sudden grateful tears in his eyes, angered him; he turned away abruptly.

It was then that Sanosuke and Kaoru seemed to notice him, but only to give brisk orders. "Kenji, will you please set the table?"

"Oi, get the rest of the stuff from the car."

"Which one first?" Kenji mumbled, trying to sound irritable.

"Well, I suppose you can get the rest of the party things..."

"Ah, go help your mom." Sanosuke and Kaoru looked at each other in exasperation.

Kenji had finally caught sight of the cake. "Party?" Slowly, he went over to look at it. Instantly, Ayame and Suzume were barging up beside him, announcing importantly that it was HIS cake (and Daddy's), and they were gonna have a party, and they were REALLY GOOD GIRLS because they _had _kept it a secret, see, Mommy? I told you so, Mr. Bird Head! and it was Ken-nii's birthday party and Daddy's Whack 'Em Home party, it's _Welcome Home_, Suzume! and Daddy said we can have the first piece of cake, but only if YOU say so, Ken-nii, can we have the first piece of cake, please please please?

"Oh yeah," Kenji said slowly, ignoring them. "I've been fifteen for...weeks now." He didn't feel like he was fifteen years old...he felt more like forty. And seven. At the same time.

Both Megumi and Kaoru kissed him. He squirmed away from the stifling clump of females and shuffled out to the car, ignoring Kenshin as hard as he could, and thinking.

_'It was the party,'_ he realized, feeling strange. _'They were talking about a party. Hiding it from me.'_ They had been hiding a party. _'They're not bad.'_ It didn't feel true, even though he knew it was, so he tried to tell himself more firmly. _'They're not bad, they're not bad, they're _not bad_.'_ He wouldn't have to run away. Even though he wanted to, with that man there in the house. _'I don't want to go in there again!'_

Katana's excited barking caught his attention, and it occurred to Kenji that he couldn't just run off and leave his dog there in the house. He wouldn't ever be able to leave Katana again. Reluctantly, he gathered up the remaining shopping bags and lugged them all inside.

Luckily, it was very busy the rest of the afternoon. Kenji hung around his mothers so that they would give him tasks to do, and he encouraged his sisters in their chatter so that it would make it hard to think. Every once in a while he would unexpectedly find himself near his father, accidentally brushing against him in the crowded kitchen or in danger of meeting his eyes, so he would whirl away and was always sent into a flurry of suspense and relief when Kenshin never said a word to him.

In a way, it was good. Here was Himura Kenshin in the same house as him, and Kenji still didn't have to face him. In another way, it was awful. It was like the longer Kenji managed to delay, the worse he knew it would be in the end. Over and over, when he couldn't get the others to drown out his thoughts for him, he kept trying to figure out how he could run away and survive on his own. It was hard to come up with a plan.

"Katana is _staying_."

"Kenji! You've _seen_ that dog around food! You need to put him out before-" Megumi suddenly noticed the boy's intense grip on the dog's collar, the anxiousness in Katana's eyes. "...The instant I see him scarf anything down, he's going."

"Fine."

They ate an early supper before the cake, much to the girls' disappointment. That was when Kenshin finally spoke to Kenji.

"Oro?"

"Ah!"

"Daddy, your chopsticks broke!"

"I'll get you another set," Kaoru said, starting to get up, but then abruptly plopped back down into her seat.

Kenshin was looking directly into his son's eyes for the first time since he had entered the house. "Will you?" he asked quietly.

It took a moment for the request to sink in - Kenji was sitting there, frozen in that gaze. Then he abruptly jerked his chair back, stomped over to get another set of chopsticks, turned back around, and hesitated.

The conversation had died down, and now everyone was looking at him.

_'Shut up, shut up, shut UP,'_ he thought fiercely at them, even though no one was speaking. _'I-! I-!'_ He was just about to whirl toward the door when Katana suddenly barreled into his legs.

"Bark!"

Kenji put a hand against the dog's fur to steady himself. Ayame and Suzume were laughing now, and saying something about the dog; the others were responding, distracted again. Only Kenshin continued to look steadily at him, and Kenji edged around the table, one hand still on Katana, holding out the chopsticks at arm's length. "Here."

Kenshin reached out to take them. He smiled. "Thank you."

It was such a little thing. Yet somehow it struck Kenji to the heart and made him want to cry; he was just barely able to hold back a joyful sob. "_Here_," he snarled again, jerking the chopsticks out of his father's grasping fingers and flinging them down onto Kenshin's plate, splattering drops of sauce on the tablecloth. Then he stormed back to his seat and buried his attention in his own plate, shoveling food into his mouth, his thoughts so scattered that everyone else's conversation was meaningless background noise in his ears for quite a while.

Finally Kaoru got up to clear the table, trying to enlist the girls' help. Kenji instantly rose to gather up dirty plates, even before realizing that the girls were too wound up to do the job properly. He had just wanted something to occupy his hands with, but he had forgotten that if he was picking up plates, he would have to get Kenshin's, too.

Kenji quickly headed back for the kitchen, hoping that someone else would get Kenshin's plate by the time he got back. No such luck - it was still sitting there, with Kenshin laughing obliviously above it at something Suzume was saying. Gritting his teeth, Kenji crept out a hand and touched the edge of the plate; Kenshin suddenly turned and smiled at him again.

Kenji froze.

After a second, Kenshin picked up his plate and put it gently into Kenji's hand. "Thank you," he said again. "I appreciate the way you are helping your mother."

Without a word, Kenji slammed the plate on top of the pile in his other arm and stalked off to the kitchen, where he skulked until Megumi dragged him out again for the cake.

The candles had already been lit, and Ayame and Suzume were practically jumping up and down with impatience as their brother returned.

"Ken-nii, sit _here_!"

"We're gonna sing you a birthday song, Ken-nii!"

"Don't bother."

"Whaaaat?"

"But we practiced!"

He endured being sung to. Then both girls immediately crowded in front of him to blow out the candles themselves, until their mother stopped them. It had given Kenji an idea, though. "No - Ayame, Suzume, you guys blow out the candles. It can be your cake. This is your birthday party now."

"Really?" Their eyes were shining. "We get to share Ken-nii's party!"

"It's Daddy's Welcome Home party too, remember? Daddy, can we share your party, too?"

Kenji noticed Megumi and Sanosuke rolling their eyes at him, and he hid a smile. He didn't care if they saw through him, as long as he didn't have to be the center of attention in this stupid little gathering.

"Quick, Ken-nii, make a wish so we can blow out the candles!"

"I'm wishing for a puppy!"

"Don't _tell_ anyone, Suzume, then it won't come true!"

Suzume began to wail. As she was soothed, Kenji looked into the candle flames and wondered what exactly it was that he wished for. _'I wish I'd never been born.'_ That was all he could think of by the time Suzume had recovered. Ayame distracted him by tugging insistently on his sleeve.

"We're ALL gonna blow together, Ken-nii! I'll count! One, two, three!"

Kenji didn't even bother. He simply watched as his sisters sucked in deep breaths and then exhaled forcefully.

It was a good thing that no one was sitting at the foot of the table, because what came out of Suzume's suddenly glistening mouth was a jet of fire that incinerated the top of the cake and almost everything else in its path. Sanosuke and Megumi jerked back, shouting; even Kenshin and Kaoru looked startled, and Ayame started yelling at her sister. "You're supposed to blow _air_ Suzume! You ruined it!"

Suzume burst into tears again, and could not understand why her big brother had reacted to her humiliation by laughing so hard that he literally fell out of his chair. The adults all gathered around the sobbing child, trying to soothe her (except Sanosuke, who was making up creative PG-rated swear words in the background). Ayame crouched down and shook her brother's shoulder, insisting that he stop laughing. "Suzume _ruined your cake_, Ken-nii!" Katana seized the opportunity to slobber on his master's face. Kenji found it all he could do to roll over and press his face into the carpet in self-defense; his sides were starting to ache from laughing so hard.

"I didn't mean it!" Suzume wailed. "I didn't mean it!"

"She was looking at the candle flames and got mixed up," Kaoru explained to the room at large, stroking Suzume's hair soothingly. Her husband was using a napkin to carefully wipe the protective excretion from the girl's lips. "You were just a little too excited, Suzume-chan. It's all right, baby."

"Mommy, Ken-nii's _laughing_!" Ayame insisted, perplexed.

Kenji managed to crawl over to Suzume, still grinning. "Suzume. Oi, Suzume. Stop crying. Seriously, you just totally made my day." He got up and ruffled her hair, hoping she would shut up, but her crying had only marginally decreased. Finally he bent down to murmur, "Be happy, Suzume-chan," and nipped her ear lightly with his teeth.

She stopped mid-sob and stared at him in surprise, for it had been a dragonish gesture. "Am I in trouble?" she asked dolefully.

"No way. You totally cracked me up. Look, I'll even buy you another cake."

She sniffled and then smiled hesitantly, reaching out for him. "Okay, Ken-nii."

By the time another cake had been procured and everyone had had their fill, it was nearly too late for the girls to still be up. They still insisted that Kenji open his gifts, which he didn't want to do with everyone else watching. So he told his sisters that since they were sharing his birthday party, they would get to share his presents too, and they were quite happy to open all his gifts for him, though they were a little disappointed at the contents.

"It's a math book."

"Ken-nii, Mommy's gonna make you learn math now instead of play video games all day."

"She can just try," Kenji muttered under his breath. He didn't see the next present until it was too late.

"Oh!"

"Haha!"

"What the-?" Kenji quickly snatched the package of underwear out of the girls' hands before they could comment on it, and shoved it under the table. "Whose idea was that?" he said indignantly, catching Megumi's and Kaoru's mischievous grins too late, and wishing he hadn't seen Sanosuke's snicker.

The girls were already tearing into the next gift. "Ah!"

"Mommy, this is a bad game!"

"There's blood on the cover!"

Megumi smacked Sanosuke on the shoulder. "What are you giving him shooter games for?"

"Yeah, seriously," Kenji said, grinning at Sano before inspecting the video game with interest. "You couldn't find the latest Samurai Chronicles?"

Megumi rolled her eyes and pulled the video game out of Kenji's hands, replacing it with another wrapped gift, which he promptly handed to the girls to open.

"Ooh!"

"What is it?"

"Gloves."

"They're not gloves," Kenji mumbled. He stared at the arm guards for too long, wondered idly how to pretend not to like them, accidentally glanced at his father, immediately tore his eyes away, and quickly placed them back in the box.

It was just after the girls had brushed their teeth and right before they were going to change for bed that Kenji had a sudden idea. He couldn't believe he was even considering it, but for some reason it seemed right. He was finally ready. "Ayame. Suzume. I have something for you."

"You do?"

"What is it, what is it!"

Kenji went to the guest room. Megumi had been sleeping there, but she had also been making him bring his things over from her house to put in there as well. He did not want to think about what that meant. He didn't think of it now; he simply went to a box and pulled out a certain item. He looked at it a long time, with emotions roiling in his chest that seemed somehow different, even darker, than what he usually felt when looking at this thing. Then he shook his head and took it out to the girls.

"Here." He held out the dragon toy he had gotten a long time ago from a fast food restaurant.

"Um...thank you, Ken-nii," Ayame said uncertainly.

"It's ugly," Suzume commented.

"Suzume, don't say that!" her sister scolded.

The toy was very battered - one wing had snapped off entirely, the other was heavily chipped, as was the tail; the eyes had been scratched out, and the whole thing was scuffed up and covered with what looked like a dog's bite marks.

"It is ugly," Kenji agreed. "You guys wanna burn it?"

Ayame looked up at him, confused; Suzume narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "I burned your cake," Suzume said warily.

"Yeah. That was awesome. You can burn my Enishi toy, too."

The girls stared at him.

"I mean...what's-her-name, Malicent or Malificence or whatever. You can burn my Malicent toy." When they still looked dubious, he grinned and tossed the toy in his hand. "Bet you 500 yen you can't completely melt it in five seconds."

"I can melt it in five seconds!" Ayame insisted. "Are you really gonna give us 500 yen?"

The three of them went out to the back, trailed by their slightly bemused parents. Megumi stood watching intently, her arms tightly crossed.

"All right," Kenji said. He eyed the girls expectantly as he tossed the toy up and down a few times in preparation. "All together, okay? One, two..."

Fire arced across the yard, blazing vividly against the darkness. Katana barked frantically and shot into the house with his tail between his legs. The girls ran out to look around in the grass for any remnants, but all they found were a few drops of melted plastic.

Kenji stood and watched them, trying and failing to figure out how he felt. He felt a light touch on his shoulder. Startled, he jerked away, then realized that it was Megumi. He saw, as she gripped his shoulder more tightly, that there were tears in her eyes. He tried to smile at her, but felt his expression dissolving; quickly he hid his face against her, and she held him for a long time. "I'm proud of you," she whispered.

o.o.o.o.o

An hour or two later, everyone had either gone to bed or were getting ready to. Kenji wandered into the kitchen for a drink. As he was pouring chocolate powder into his milk, he sensed someone come in behind him, and he stiffened. Only one other person in the house could move so silently. He stood frozen, then finally turned his head just enough to confirm that it was indeed his father who was now moving among the counters, tidying up the last of the mess and getting out a cup from a cabinet.

The last time the two of them had been alone in this room together, Kenji had run a sword through him.

The thought sent a shiver through him, and then he couldn't seem to stop trembling, no matter hard he willed it. Finally he said gruffly, without turning around, "Sorry." His shoulders tensed, waiting.

Kenshin came up and lightly put an arm around him. "Forgiven," he murmured warmly.

Kenji gritted his teeth. He suddenly whirled away to storm out of the room. He only caught a brief glimpse of his father's face, but there was no mistaking - there had been a smile on it.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: **Once again, everything is new except for the part where Megumi's trying to get Kenji to quit hiding in his room and go meet Kenshin.** The revisions for this story are so in-depth that it's now changed the tone of stuff I already wrote. Even though the plot events are mostly the same, I keep having to add in more scenes for transition and to re-balance the flow, as well as re-doing a lot of already-written scenes so that they match with previous material.

I wish it had occurred to me that **dragons would probably need some protective coating around their mouths when they breathe fire, but I actually first saw that idea in Robin McKinley's **_**Dragonhaven**_. Makes a lot of sense.

**I think I'm making Kenji too perceptive**...it's hard to get the thematic stuff right and still keep the poor guy in-character.


	10. Reconciliation

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 10 - Reconciliation **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

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"Oh, thanks! Take me off guard duty, just to give me _more guard duty_."

"Shut up, Sagara. This needs to happen."

"You know the kid's gonna hate you when he finds out."

It was at this point in the overheard conversation that Kenji suddenly realized what they might be talking about. He did not dare peek around the doorframe, both because he was pretty sure that his father already knew he was there, and that the other three would stop talking as soon as they realized it as well.

"I refuse to discuss this again. We've _decided_, and now we need to go through with it before-" Megumi's voice suddenly cut off, but even though he thought she might be about to cry, Kenji didn't feel the least bit sorry for her.

Kenshin's voice was gentle. "Megumi-san...you are welcome to stay longer-"

"Ngh!" Apparently she was still on the verge of tears, because that seemed to be the only sound of refusal she could make without completely losing her composure.

"...I think that Kenji would - be very upset if you left now. Maybe...maybe you should wait." That was Kaoru, not sounding happy at all.

"_I_ think we should _ask Kenji_," Sanosuke said forcefully. "He's not a baby who needs people to decide what's best for him."

"You only knew him for a _year_, Sagara," Megumi snarled. "If you had been there when-"

Kenji couldn't take it anymore. He flung himself through the doorway. "What's that supposed to mean?" he growled at Megumi. "That I really _am_ just a little baby who can't decide what's best for me?"

They were all staring at him now, obviously. Kenshin merely smiled in greeting, as if he hadn't just been caught. Sanosuke smirked a little, almost in commiseration. Kaoru looked stricken; Megumi's face simply tightened. "I'm leaving, sweetheart."

That was one thing he usually loved about Megumi. She didn't make him frantic by trying to cushion bad news. It's just that this time, instead of offering comfort and strength, _she_ was the one causing him pain.

"No, you're _not_!" He swore at her so offensively that even Sano looked taken aback.

Megumi's expression did not change. "I'll check in on you tomorrow."

She turned her back abruptly to get her purse and bags (which were already packed...), so that he was forced to trail after her. "You _can't_ leave! Sh-Shishio's still out there. He'll-"

"That's what my guard dog is for," she said shortly.

Kenji looked wildly at Sanosuke, who rolled his eyes. "You think Sano'd last two seconds against the Juppongatana?"

"Hey!"

Kenji paused, only allowing himself to be distracted because he owed his friend more respect than that. "Well...maybe five or ten minutes. Depending on who he fights."

"_Hey!_"

"You have to stay _here_, Megumi!"

She hoisted one bag strap over her shoulder, pointedly indicated for Sanosuke to get the other one, then turned and kissed her adopted son on the cheek. "I love you," she said.

"I hate you! I _hate_ you!"

"It's not the first time you've told me that," she murmured. Then she walked away.

For a second Kenji stared numbly after her. Then he felt a light touch on his arm - from the woman who was _not his mother_; he shook her off and dashed after his real mother, catching her on the front steps. He gripped her shoulder tightly, moved his mouth close to her ear and said in a fierce whisper, "I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_ I called you names, I didn't mean it - I love you too Megumi, I really love you, I really do. Please stay. _Please stay._"

She merely jerked away and continued walking, without looking back. If she had, he would have seen the tears that had started running down her face; but she didn't, so all he saw was her back.

Megumi and Sanosuke were gone. Kenji stood there, staring at nothing, feeling like his heart was being torn in pieces, and he couldn't do anything to stop it, so he wanted to tear other things into pieces, too. Abruptly he whirled around and shoved back into the house, not even realizing that his parents were trying to speak to him. His arm swept out; dishes went crashing to the floor in pieces. He sent a chair flying across the room to leave a dent in the wall. "KATANA!"

The girls scampered out of their room where they had been playing, their faces screwed up in nervous curiosity about the commotion. The dog knew better - he had crept under a bed to hide.

"Katana, come _here_!" The dog merely whined; Kenji had to physically drag him out. "Let's go! Let's _go_!"

It had been a long time since Katana had seen one of these moods, but apparently he still remembered them. As soon as he was dragged out of hiding, he ran for the open front door, yelped all the way down the block, watched fearfully from a clump of bushes as his master slowed to a dispirited walk, then finally trailed from a safe distance, whimpering, as Kenji trudged along miserably.

At one point Kenji stopped. They were about a mile away from the house, and seeing his dog's drooping ears and tucked tail, Kenji finally felt a pang of remorse. "Katana...I'm sorry. Come here, buddy."

It took quite a bit of coaxing; and then Katana did not trot or frolic or explore as usual, but merely paced along at his master's side with his head down, occasionally whining. Kenji often reached down to touch his fur, and would have kept his hand on him if the dog was tall enough.

Katana's presence was soothing as usual. Kenji was beginning to hate himself for frightening the best source of solace that he had had all throughout his childhood, and to despise himself for the worse things he had done in the past that Katana had forgiven him for. "Katana," Kenji whispered, gently stroking the scars on his dog's back, "I'm so sorry..."

Katana flinched under his touch, but then reached around and licked his master's hand. Kenji suddenly stopped and sat down right there on the pavement and flung his arms around the dog's neck, burying his face in the russet fur. He sat like that for a long time. Katana, gradually relaxing, started trying to lick his face with a little more enthusiasm.

When Kenji finally got to his feet again, his heart was a little lighter and there was a determined expression on his face. Katana, picking up on his changing mood, barked in relief and bounded ahead as if to lead the way.

o.o.o.o.o

That night, Megumi woke up crying. She thought at first that her dreams had disturbed her out of her sleep, but then she tensed, oversensitive to even the smallest noises. Was there someone...?

She tried to resist, because this would make it the third time, but finally she gave in and got out of bed and crept out to the living room, where Sanosuke was flipping listlessly through TV channels. "Did you-?"

"No, I did not hear anything," he said flatly. Hitting the mute button, he rolled his head around to face her, looking exasperated. "There's _no one out there_, woman. At least..." He paused, suddenly frowning. Then he switched off the TV and got to his feet, looking tensely at the windows.

"What is it?" Megumi whispered.

"Stay here," he said shortly. "Get ready to call Himura, and try to find a weapon."

Her heart in her mouth, Megumi did as she was told, watching as he went outside. Minutes ticked by in terrible suspense as she waited.

Finally Sanosuke came back, shaking his head. "Checked all around the house, couldn't find anything."

Megumi blew out a frightened breath. "What does that mean?"

"Means nothing," he said shortly. "Nothing you should care about. I'm here, so try to get some sleep."

"As if I can sleep now," she snapped, falling into an easy chair and curling her legs up.

They sat like that for several long minutes. "Really," Sanosuke finally said, his voice softer than she had ever heard it. "You can trust me. I'll keep you safe."

"Kenji said you wouldn't last ten minutes against one of those dragons," Megumi mumbled.

"Hmph. Little brat's underestimated me. I could kick his butt in the old days, and I've picked up some stuff since then, too. No one's gonna be able to get to you."

Megumi didn't believe him, but all the same, she ended up moving to the other end of the couch where he was sitting. She curled into the corner of it, tense with worry and wishing the silence didn't sit so heavily between the two of them. She thought that she would never be able to go to sleep, but at one point she drowsily realized that Sanosuke was putting a blanket over her.

Then it was morning, and it smelled and sounded like someone was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, but then she heard the toilet flush in the other direction. _There was someone else in the house_.

Megumi leapt to her feet, staring frantically between the hallway and the entryway to the kitchen. _There were definitely two people_. Megumi opened her mouth to scream for Sanosuke, but just then he wandered back into the living room, zipping up his fly. Frantically, she pointed in the direction of the kitchen, and Sanosuke...grinned.

_'What are you grinning about?'_ she thought furiously.

"You only get one egg for breakfast," Sanosuke told her, "because there's just three others left in the carton, and two of them have my name on them."

"Who _is_ that?" she hissed, pointing even more frantically.

"Oi, is Megumi up?" called whoever it was, and then her shoulders slumped as she realized.

Thunderously, Megumi stormed into the kitchen, where Kenji stood cracking the last egg into a sizzling frying pan as calmly as if he still lived here. "What do you think you're _doing_?"

"Frying eggs," he said snottily. "Look, I'll put a happy face on yours." He picked a couple of beans out of the open container of leftovers beside him, dropping them onto one of the plates. "There. Now it's got eyes. I'll add a mouth once the noodles heat up."

"You're supposed to be _home_!"

Kenji flung the spatula across the stovetop, shattering his mocking pretense at good humor. "I AM HOME, Megumi. _This_ is my home, with _you_."

"Kenji, you belong _there_, with your family. I'm not your real mother!"

"Oh, well THAT'S good to know, seeing as how you've _acted_ like one ever since-!" Cutting himself off, Kenji stormed over to the back door to let in the dog, who had been pawing at it insistently. Katana looked up at his master, whined, and quickly retreated back into the yard. "Make up your mind!" Kenji shouted, then slammed the door shut again and turned back to Megumi. "I live here! I live _here_! You can't kick me out!" Immediately he winced and looked away. "You can't make me leave," he whispered, pleadingly this time.

Megumi shut her eyes tiredly. "I can't deal with this right now."

The three of them ate breakfast in silence. Sanosuke then went to sleep in Kenji's bed, as Megumi wordlessly started getting ready for work, which she had been missing far too much of lately.

Kenji was not pleased. "What do you mean you're going to work? I just got here!"

"You can entertain yourself, then," Megumi snapped. "I'm not taking off yet another day just to keep you company."

"I'll have to go with you, anyway," Kenji growled. "_Someone's_ gotta make sure you don't get assassinated before we can-" _Before we can kill Shishio_, he meant to say, though he found himself unable to voice the words aloud.

"Do what you want!" Megumi was about to say, _'It's not my business anymore,'_ but she had not become quite that heartless. Besides, it wasn't true at all. She still loved and cared about Kenji more than anything else in the world, even though he was driving her up the wall.

"Fine, I _will_!"

"Don't get in my way!"

"No problem! I'll never get in your way again! _Sorry_ I ruined the last seven years of your life."

"Eight."

"Eight." He suddenly looked like he was about to cry. "Eight years of freedom. Because of you."

She couldn't fight him anymore. She went over and hugged him, pretending not to notice his tears. "They've been the best eight years of my life," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Megumi."

"I'm sorry."

They pulled back and looked at each other sadly, calling a silent truce.

o.o.o.o.o

For three whole days, Kenji managed to pretend that his new family did not exist, that it was only him and Megumi and Katana and Sano, just like the old days. But then he came into the living room that third evening and saw Sanosuke giving flowers to Megumi.

Kenji came to a dead stop, staring. She was in a shimmering dress, with makeup and high heels and her hair elegantly put up. Kenji could count on one hand the number of times he had seen her dressed up like this, always for business occasions.

And he had _never_ expected to see Sagara Sanosuke in a suit.

"M...Megu...mi?"

She turned around. "Oh - I forgot to tell you earlier, we'll both be out tonight. There's leftovers on the top drawer in the fridge, or you can have the rest of that pizza. We should be back by eleven or so. Stay out of trouble."

Sanosuke, looking embarrassed, nodded once and then ducked out of the house. Megumi blew Kenji a kiss and then quickly followed.

Kenji stared, still in shock for a minute. Then, as soon as he heard the engine of the car start, he bounded around to the back of the house so that they wouldn't see him come outside.

It was no use, though. They would know it was him if he tried to follow on Sano's motorcycle, and even he couldn't keep up with a car for very long on foot. So he shouted out his frustration to the night and stormed back inside to impatiently bide his time until their return.

He pretended to be asleep when they got back. He listened to their movements in the house, their murmured exchanges. Finally, he crept into Megumi's room - the lights were off and she was in bed, but she sat up at once when she heard him come in. He climbed up onto the foot of her bed and sat there in the darkness, waiting. "Well?" he finally demanded.

"It was lovely," she answered, with maddening cheerfulness. "I've only been to Raghetti's once before - heh, I'm surprised Sagara even knew the place existed."

"Whoo hoo for you! How _could_ you, Megumi?"

"What, go on a date?" she said, so scathingly that he paused.

Come to think of it, she had never gone on a date, never had a boyfriend, barely ever shown romantic interest in anyone in all the years he had known her. A horrible thought occurred to him. "Megumi...have you...have you been single all this time because of me?" _Have I ruined your life even more than I thought?_

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped. "I've been single all this time because I've never yet met a man who wasn't an idiot. Well," she suddenly amended, "I've met one, but he's taken."

Kenji REALLY did not want to pursue that train of thought. "So suddenly _Sagara Sanosuke_ is good enough for you."

She reached out to ruffle his hair. "Jealous?"

"What? No! Are you crazy?"

"At having to share me," she clarified, her smile almost audible in her voice. "You've had me all to yourself for seven- eight- no, seven years."

"You're my _mom_," he said hotly, feeling his face redden.

"I'm _teasing_ you."

"Don't tease me!" He went quiet, because he could tell he was sounding stupid. Then, when she didn't say anything, he ventured cautiously, "Do you really like Sano that much? I mean, he's cool, but...I thought you hated him!"

"He convinced me to give him a second chance."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What, would you rather I dated someone else?" she snapped.

"_NO!_" There was a pause. He could almost sense her surprise, even though she said nothing. "I'd rather it be Sano than anyone else," he finally grumbled. "But...it's just..."

"It's just what?" she challenged, echoing his own thoughts.

Why _was_ he so upset, anyway? That his mother, now that she had the chance to be relieved of the burden of raising him, was trying to start a love life? _'Takani, you're an idiot,'_ he thought, thoroughly disgusted with himself. "Never mind. I'm going to bed for real now."

"Give me a hug."

He did, because he wanted her to know that he had forgiven her. "I'm...sorry for...acting like a kid," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry too," she murmured. It did not occur to him to ask what she might be sorry for.

o.o.o.o.o

_"So, how did it go?"_

"...Surprisingly well."

_"You don't sound very happy about it."_

"Kenji'll kill me if he finds out it's all an act."

_"Oh, _is_ it all an act?"_

"Of course it is! You don't think I'd honestly consider going out with Sagara Sanosuke!"

_"But you _did_ go out with him."_

"Did you not hear the part about it being an act?"

_"Oh. So you didn't really go to Raghetti's after all?"_

"No, we went. I had to pay, though. The idiot was broke."

_"Oooh, you really went? Was it as nice as they say?"_

"It was, actually."

_"Did he kiss you?"_

"NO!"

_"Did he look like he wanted to?"_

"Of course not, he was a complete jerk!"

_"Really?"_

"Well...no. No, he wasn't. It's just that I was frustrated, and it was so hard trying to keep up the pretense in case we were being watched, and there's no telling how long we'll have to keep this up..."

_"..."_

"Well, Sagara was actually pretty patient. Considering the circumstances."

_"..."_

"Looking back...I think I did most of the talking."

_"Do you think you might _eventually_ start liking him, Megumi-san?"_

"Well, I wouldn't consider him as a boyfriend or anything."

_"...Really?"_

"Why? Your tone is worrying me, Kaoru-san."

_"Well...it's just that, like you said, Kenji will be pretty mad when he finds out you tricked him. I'm thinking...it'd be interesting if he never had to know."_

"...What are you implying?"

_"From what I understand, Sagara-san is not such a bad man. Kenshin likes him, and of course Kenji adores him."_

"Hmph. Those two aren't known for their taste."

_"Eh? What's that supposed to-? Wait a minute!"_

o.o.o.o.o

Megumi and Sanosuke went out on another date later that week, and even though this time Kenji could have followed them, he didn't. It just...creeped him out, the thought of those two together. It kind of pleased him, too, in a way that made him want to respect their privacy. Either way, he was left bored and lonely at home, so eventually he found himself hovering outside another home, watching the parents and the two little girls eating dinner together.

"Think we should be in there too, Katana?" he asked, mostly to fill the silence.

The dog panted at him curiously.

"Of course, _you_ want to be in there, 'cause that's where the food is."

"Bark!"

"Shut up, Katana!" he hissed, holding the dog's jaws shut. Katana shook his head in irritation and barked again when Kenji's hand was dislodged. "Stay _quiet_, mutt!" He shot a nervous glance at the windows. For a second he thought that Kenshin was looking right at him - but no, he was talking to the rest of the family again. Kenji sank into a relieved huddle next to the dog, absent-mindedly scratching behind Katana's ears. "This is so lame..."

He watched as the family started cleaning up after the meal; as Kenshin started doing the dishes and then was shooed away by his wife; as the girls ran out of sight and turned on a light in the bathroom a few seconds later. He watched as his parents spoke together for a while, wishing he could hear them. It bothered him that Kenshin was sitting down, that he looked so tired. He obviously still had not fully recovered. _'You suck,'_ Kenji thought at him. _'And so do I.'_ Because here he was, sitting in the dark, stuck on the outside looking in, like a loser. _'So why don't you do something about it, Takani? _Do something about it_.'_

He couldn't, though. He couldn't make himself move any closer, and then finally when he looked at his watch again, it was late enough. He made his way home, where he was met by the depressing sight of Sanosuke kissing Megumi on the front porch. _'Maybe I should have spent the night at the other house.'_

Neither of them seemed to be in a hurry. Even when Megumi finally pushed Sano away, it was not with any real force, and then she just stood there for a while, still resting her hands against him as she stared at the ground. Sanosuke murmured something to her; she murmured back and turned for the open doorway. Sanosuke stretched his arms high over his head, and Kenji moved up to ask, "Should I leave you two alone tonight?"

Sanosuke jumped and whirled around. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I was, like, three meters away. Bit distracted, weren't you?"

"Shut up," Sanosuke mumbled. He looked into the house, where Megumi had gone. "...I like your mom."

"Don't wanna talk about this."

"All right," Sanosuke said agreeably.

"...So, should I go?"

"Huh? Oh, no, don't bother. I- We were just-" Sanosuke shook his head in frustration. Kenji could not remember ever seeing him at a loss like this. "She's really something."

"Like I said, I can leave," Kenji snapped.

"_Don't_ leave," Sanosuke growled, his attention fully on Kenji for the first time that evening. "Look, I...it's complicated, with us."

"Whatever. I'm going to bed; _you_ can keep watch tonight." Kenji pushed past him, not sure whether he was angry or not, and not really caring.

o.o.o.o.o

"I've got nowhere to go." Kenji was sitting on a bench and staring at Katana, who sat in front of him and stared back. "Just a homeless little freak. Katana, where do I go?" He couldn't go to the Himuras', he _couldn't_. Megumi and Sanosuke were driving him crazy; Shishio's doors were closed to him. He could sleep on the streets, except that he had the feeling Saitou might snap him up if he left the protection of the only warriors who had a chance against Shishio. "I've got nowhere to freaking _go_."

Katana whined uncertainly.

"Except to hell." Kenji considered this, but only briefly. He wasn't _that_ desperate...and besides, he was better than that. "I'm not running away," he whispered. "I'm not afraid." Except that hiding from his family _was_ like running away, and he realized that he was going to have to...not _become_ one of them, but he would have to face them sooner or later. The longer he tried to avoid it, the worse it felt. He was just going to have to suck it up, go and admit to their faces how badly he had screwed up, and try to get them to _like_ him. Then hope that Megumi was merciful and would take him back, because he didn't _want_ a new family. "I can't do it, Katana."

Bored, Katana lay down with his head on his paws.

"Stop that! I'm _not_ dithering!" To prove it, he got to his feet right that minute and started heading purposefully to the Himuras' house. The journey became less purposeful as he went, since he was all too willing to let himself be sidetracked; yet eventually he found himself standing on the sidewalk in front of his parents' home. He stared at it morosely. "I want to burn you," he told the house.

Just then the girls came yelling around the corner into the front yard, Suzume squealing indignantly as her sister shot her with a stream of water from a toy pistol. "Stooooop, Neechan, it's cold!"

"I got you! You're dead, Suzume!"

"No, I'm nooooot!"

"You _are_! Ken-nii, Suzume's dead, isn't she? She's dead!"

Both girls ran up to their brother, waving their water pistols and arguing insistently. "Neechan shot me! It's COLD! Make her STOP!"

"It's part of the GAME, Ken-nii! Make her die, she's dead!"

Kenji stared at them. "I've seen a lot of dead people," he found himself remarking.

"What?" Suzume whined, but Ayame suddenly fell silent and looked at him soberly.

"I don't like this game! Make her play right!" the smaller girl insisted, shoving her sister. "You have to be _nice_, Neechan, and let me shoot you!"

"That's not how it works!" Ayame started to protest, but then fell silent and shot an uneasy glance at her brother. "Ken-nii, I don't want Suzume to die," she said in a small voice.

"Crap." Kenji suddenly felt sick. He yanked the water guns out of his sister's hands, crushed the plastic in his fists until it cracked, and threw the toys aside, where Katana ran to sniff at them. "Don't play stupid games," he snarled at them, then repeated the order with coarser language. Suzume gasped in horrified glee and ran to tattle on him.

Ayame's face suddenly twisted as she grasped his shirt in her fists. "Don't let anybody hurt me, Ken-nii."

"I won't." He stared down at the top of her bent head and found himself swearing silently to protect her. "Don't play stupid games," he repeated. Go practice your kata or something."

"Okay," she whimpered, and trudged off.

"I'm an idiot," Kenji muttered at himself as he watched her go. Vowing to protect his little sister, after he'd gone and deprived so many other people of their loved ones. _'I'm a killer. I don't deserve to have a family.'_ He paused, as a revelation occurred to him. _'Just like Dad.'_

Speaking of which, the man himself had come out on the porch and was smiling a little. "Welcome back."

"Shut up."

"Are you staying for dinner?"

"..."

"Your mother could use some help in the kitchen."

"So?"

Kenshin just looked at him, cocking his head a little.

"Shut _up_, I'm going!" Kenji stormed past him into the house.

Steam was rising from the pots on the stove; Kaoru stood in front of a cutting board with a knife in one hand, snapping at the whining Suzume. "I said _no_."

"I want _cookies_! Neechan was mean to me and Ken-nii broke my toy and I'm _hungry - and I want - COOKIES_!"

Her voice has risen into a petulant howl, but Kaoru looked as if she hadn't even heard. She was staring at Kenji with her mouth half open. She made a little surge forward and then pulled up short, her expression torn. The sight of her obvious emotion at seeing him and her attempt to hold it in check made Kenji want to scream. He marched straight past her into the hallway, wandered about, eventually trudged sullenly back into the living room, and slowly edged toward the kitchen, where Kaoru was standing with her shoulders slumped and her back to him, seeming completely unaware of Suzume's insistent attempts to get her attention.

Kenji looked at his mother, seething with resentment but forced to recognize that he had hurt her and the others just as badly as they had hurt him. _'I don't want to play nice to her. It wasn't my fault. _Nothing was my fault._'_ He did not realize that he was glaring, and he wondered vaguely why Suzume suddenly fell silent and ran to hide behind her father.

Kaoru finally turned around and blinked in surprise when she found her son's intense gaze fixed on her. "Kenji?"

He was silent.

She came forward hesitantly. "Can I...?"

He let her hug him as usual, that annoyingly hesitant touch as if he were...as if he were some kind of skittish animal that would bolt at the merest flicker. It was the first time the comparison had occurred to him, and it made him angry. He put his arms around her as well and forced himself to relax a little, which was harder than he thought it would be. _'See? I'm not afraid.'_ He wondered if he could ever let this woman be his mother for real. He...wanted help her, but at the same time her _need_ always made him want to run. He could almost see it, a huge grasping thing that wanted to cling to him and suck the life out of him.

Somehow she sensed the sudden change in his mood, and she managed to pull away first. Her _need_ drew back and was tucked away again, and he almost admired her smoothed-out expression and even smile as she asked, "Kenji, would you like to help me make dinner while the girls keep your- keep their father company?"

He did want to help, now that her self-control was back. There had been too many lonely days; he wanted to feel the comfort of a human presence at his side. Only...only he didn't know how to say it without seeming weak. After a long pause she leaned sadly to kiss his cheek, then turned away and went back to work.

Frustrated and uncertain, Kenji wandered away and watched as the girls drew their father into a game with Katana. Kenji could somehow tell that although the man's eyes and voice and laughter were all devoted to the girls, no small part of his consciousness and attention were fixed on his son. Kenji found himself pleased, and the childish feeling of that pleasure angered him. _'I am not a baby. I don't need you - I _don't_! I don't want you!'_ And since he knew full well that he was lying to himself, just like a kid throwing a tantrum, he was more disgusted with himself than ever. _'I really am a baby.'_ All the anger drained out of him, leaving him tired. _'I'm a stupid little brat. Geez.'_

He went back to the kitchen, where he stopped and stood in the middle of the floor, unsure of what to do and feeling like an idiot.

Kaoru paused, then picked up a measuring cup, turned, and held it out to him, saying casually, "Put four cups of rice in that empty pot, will you? And six cups of water. Then you can chop vegetables while it soaks." He ducked his head sullenly to preserve his dignity, but obeyed without hesitation.

They worked silently for a few minutes, listening to Kenshin and the girls and the dog playing in the living room. Then Kaoru smiled and said chattily, "What do you say we go shopping tomorrow, Kenji? You're growing out of all the clothes you brought over, and I think you'll be okay out in public now that you've changed your hair."

"Whatever," he mumbled, concentrating on making the pieces of carrot he was cutting as evenly chopped as he could. He was startled when he felt a gentle touch on his forehead, smoothing his hair back. "You hide behind your bangs, just like your father," she observed, her voice quiet and not without affection.

"Maybe I should cut them off, then," Kenji snapped in embarrassment. "His, I mean. Not mine."

"I don't think he would appreciate that," she laughed, amused by the thought.

"Of course he wouldn't," Kenji mumbled, a little confused. Then he angrily bowed over again and concentrated entirely on his task, refusing to speak anymore.

He set the table, because it was something he could do alone. He was disconcerted and a little annoyed when the girls bounded eagerly over to "help," chattering unceasingly as they painstakingly folded the napkins _juuuust_ right and went around straightening bowls and chopsticks he had apparently set down too carelessly. He spoke only to answer their direct questions, and then as shortly as possible.

"Ken-nii, can we braid your hair?"

"What? _NO!_"

"But Daddy let us!"

"Well, he's-" Kenji stopped himself just in time from telling two young girls that their beloved father was a fruity idiot. "...different."

"Pleeeaase?" they begged.

"No!" And then, to stop himself from yelling at them, he stormed out the front door. He stopped short when he saw his father on the front porch, about to descend the stairs.

Kenshin smiled at him. "Walk with me?"

It didn't occur to Kenji to speak. He simply shuffled over to sullenly offer his arm for support, hearing his mother calling the girls back into the house.

_'Great. Now I'm alone with him. I think they planned this.'_ He kicked angrily at pebbles as they walked. Kenshin was tranquil, saying nothing for a long time.

The silence was starting to drive Kenji crazy, and he finally burst out, "You're pathetic. Almighty Battousai, hanging off the arm of a fifteen-year-old kid."

"Is it pathetic," Kenshin asked, sounding merely curious, "to take any opportunity I can to spend time with my son?"

"Shut up," Kenji mumbled in an agony of embarrassment.

"I don't feel like shutting up," Kenshin answered mildly.

"F-Fine then," Kenji growled. "Talk your head off, I won't listen."

"All right. As long as I still have your arm to lean on."

Kenji promptly threw his arm off and stalked ahead. After a while he stopped and turned, highly impatient to find that his father, obviously still recovering from the injury, was lagging far behind. Kenji sighed and rocked back and forth impatiently, waiting for his companion to catch up.

Kenshin took his time approaching, glad for the chance to study his son's appearance at his leisure. Kenji fidgeted, looking anywhere but at Kenshin, so obviously uncomfortable that it made Kenshin sorry for him. The boy was depressingly thin, though he tried to hide it with baggy jeans and a loose, unbuttoned shirt layered over a long-sleeved one. His naturally handsome face was creased and drawn from nursing unhappiness for too long. He had slashed off his hair and dyed it black in defiance of continuing to look like his father, but the resemblance was still gratifyingly clear, and not just because of the scars. _'You are my son,'_ Kenshin thought. _'You have been torn from us, even now you continue to hide from us, but the bonds between you and your family are too strong to be broken.'_

"Come on," Kenji snapped when Kenshin was finally close. "Let's go."

"I'm sorry," Kenshin panted, shamelessly falling back on his sincere fatigue. "I need to rest for a minute before we head back to the house." With that, he sat down and settled himself comfortably against a neighbor's tree.

"Oh, give me a break!" Kenji burst out in frustration. Seeing that his father was perfectly serious, he kicked at the ground and paced for a minute, then cursed and plopped down next to Kenshin, facing away from him.

Kenshin looked at the boy's sullenly hunched back, his thoughts soft. _'Why don't you walk away from me, Kenji? Why do you stay by my side instead of abandoning us?'_ He was a little surprised when Kenji suddenly turned back to him, glaring.

For a moment the boy's eyes raked over him, and then he asked something Kenshin had not expected from him. "Did I really hurt you that badly?" The discomfort in his voice was good to hear, since none of it showed in his hostile expression.

"You mean, was impaling me with a sword damaging enough to really turn me into this hobbling old man?"

Kenji angrily turned away again, but looked back in surprise when Kenshin laughed.

"I'm sorry for holding you back, Kenji."

Kenji surged to his feet. "You're not holding me back! You idiot!" he shouted. "You're so stupid! Do you honestly think that me and your wonderful little family can exist together? You're killing me!" His hand gestured violently at his heart. "Unless I kill you first!"

He backed away warily when Kenshin, eyes hardened at last, climbed to his feet. "Our family will do very well when it's together, as it should be. As it should have been long before. As it _will_ be, if you choose." He held out his hand. "We have been waiting for you, Kenji. Always, we have been waiting for you."

Kenji backed slowly away from the offered hand, looking as if he thought it was a trap.

"Kenji." The boy was stopped in his tracks. "We have come to you as far as we can. Now you must come the rest of the way to us."

Kenji met his eyes in defiant challenge, but soon became preoccupied with his own thoughts. His insides felt like they were roiling; he wanted to bolt, he wanted to run to his father, but that would be like a betrayal of...something. Somehow he felt as if whatever he chose would be a choice of forever.

The decision weighed down on him heavily. "Shut up!" he screamed, wild to vent his feelings, but he heard his own voice and heard how childish he was being. _'I'm such a...! Such a...!'_ Why couldn't he be what he wanted to be? Why did he always have to be such a child, why were his hands always tied by pride? What could he possibly have to be proud of?

Something broke in him, and defeat settled heavily over his shoulders. He went tiredly over to his father and stood in front of him, staring at the ground. "I hate myself," he whispered. The other's arms came around him, though not a word was spoken. Kenji felt a spark of resentment at this, until he realized that his father _couldn't_ speak, because he was crying. Kenji felt himself crying too, and this time didn't bother to hide it.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: To my surprise, I realized that this fic actually has the same theme as its predecessor, _Sapphire Scales_ - both Kaoru and Kenji suffered unjustly under self-hatred and the false identities that were imposed on them, and then tried to push away their rescuer before finally giving in. I wasn't planning that, but it's interesting...

I'd finished the second draft of this chapter, like, a month ago, but the new and old material did not fit together very well at all. Now, sitting down this afternoon to work on this fic after heroically resisting the desire to read _Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane_ instead, I found that it was now easy to cut the lines that needed to be cut and streamline the two pieces of writing. That was nice.

Random unrelated note that will definitely be taken out of the final draft: I saw _How to Train Your Dragon_ for the first time - twice - Friday afternoon, then watched it yet again yesterday, and am kind of itching for a fourth viewing. New favorite movie. :D


	11. Final Battle

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 11 - Final Battle **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

A/N: Mwaha, witness **my atrocious battle scene writing skills**.

o.o.o

"KEN-CHAAAN!" It could have been worse, he supposed. The mostly-healed wounds that Kimi's glomp was currently aggravating would have been only half-healed if he had not waited this long to let his friends know he was back from the dead.

"Glad to see you too, pretty girl," he whispered.

"Takani...I'm so happy you're back," Daisuke said, his eyes shimmering with tears that he seemed to be holding back with limited success.

"Hurry!" Kakeru shouted, grabbing Kenji by the shirtfront so that he could yank him inside and slam the door. "The neighbors will've seen you! We still have to keep your super-villain identity a SECRET, remember?" He grinned and clapped Kenji on the back rather harder than was necessary.

The five of them had gathered together at Kimi's house for lunch, since Kenji was not comfortable going out in public yet. Wild rumors were going around about the identity of the 'dragon assassin,' and not all of them were false. His parents and Megumi were probably not going to be able to keep him safe from the police and the government forever, even with Saitou Hajime as an ally.

Kenji had no idea what would happen when they _did_ catch up to him. He had taken people's lives, he had committed crimes; he had also been a victim and a prisoner. His future was still very uncertain, and even now he wasn't sure if Saitou was on his side, or even whether that would be a good thing or not. For now, though, it was enough to be with his friends again, to pretend once more that he was normal, to know at least that he was accepted and loved.

At least, mostly accepted. "So, _spill_," Kakeru demanded, pushing Kenji into a chair and shoving mounds of food at him as if consuming it was supposed to help Kenji expel information. "_You're_ the hitokiri? You _killed_ people - like, for real? That's the big secret?"

Kenji propped his elbow on the table and tiredly leaned his face against his hand. "One secret out of so, so many."

"Start from the beginning," Kimi commanded, climbing into his lap and helping herself to the servings on his plate.

"Hey! Eat your own food!"

Eventually he did tell them, almost all of it. How he was a dragon. (They were all, Kyouya especially, very interested in that; and to his mortification, they insisted on practical demonstrations. Kyouya _took notes_.) How he had been held captive and experimented on as a child, though he determinedly avoided most of the details; how that had led to the dragon-human hybrids that had begun showing up in the news. How Megumi had begun to raise him, then lost him; how he had lived with Sanosuke for a year; how he had been reunited with Megumi and gone into hiding with her. How he had been re-captured and handed over to a new master; how he had learned to wield a real sword, and to kill with it.

It took hours, because they all interrupted so much. But finally Kenji finished talking, and they all sat around the living room in uncharacteristic silence, and he kept his eyes fixed on his knees because he couldn't stand to see the looks they might be giving him.

Kyouya was the first one to speak. "You also have a new name, don't you."

Kenji closed his eyes briefly. "My real name. I forgot it, on purpose, when I lost my wings." He had never willingly taken dragon form again after that, not until he had come back to his family all these years later. He had not wanted to be a dragon, he had not wanted to remember flying, even though he had remembered and missed it every single day; he had not wanted to speak to the voices in his head ever again.

"Himura," Kimi said thoughtfully. "I like that name."

"I guess I have to start calling you 'Himura' now, instead of 'Takani,'" Daisuke mused.

Kenji smiled a little. "It's...okay if you just call me 'Kenji,' you know."

Daisuke looked up in surprise, then smiled brilliantly.

"You too, Kyou- uh, Ohtori," Kenji added awkwardly.

Kyouya shrugged. "Fine. And you might as well forget the Ohtori; I've gotten used to what these two idiots call me." He gestured at Kimi and Kakeru.

"Same here, Kenji-kun!" Daisuke put in. Then, at the protest of the other two, "I mean, about using my name, not about you guys being, uh, i...idiots."

"Kyouya," Kenji murmured, trying out the names and feeling, to his annoyance, like he might cry. "Daisuke. Kyouya. Daisuke. I like that."

"You forgot Kimi!" she yapped at him.

"And Kakeru!" he called out.

Kenji smiled. "Daisuke, Kyouya, Kimi, Kakeru. I'm..." He shook his head, it sounded so cheesy out loud, but he made himself say it anyway. "I'm really glad to have friends like you."

By then he definitely had to leave, because he was supposed to be training and his father was probably getting as impatient as was possible for that man to be. "We'll get together again soon!" Kenji yelled at his friends as they jostled in the doorway and shouted at him to stay. "See you!"

"Bye, idiot!"

"See you soon, Takani! I mean, Him- er, Kenji-kun!"

"COME BACK TO ME SOON, MY DARLING!"

"Take care."

Kenji waved one last time, then shook his head and continued on home.

o.o.o.o.o

"Kenji, watch your language."

"Why should I? That _hurt_!"

Kenshin smiled. "Good thing we're only using shinai then, right?"

Kenji glowered but said nothing, obviously having realized by now that in the hands of someone like his father, even a stick of bamboo was not a weapon to be taken lightly. Even so, "I still think you're wrong. The almighty Battousai could probably kill someone with a toothpick, but in _most_ cases, shinai are fit only for weaklings. Real warriors use real swords."

"All hail the wise teachings of Shishio Makoto," Kenshin said grimly.

Kenji flinched a little, then growled and raised his shinai. "Whatever, I don't even care. I swear, I _will_ master this thing before sundown!"

"Kenji, your progress is remarkable," Kenshin said encouragingly. "In a few hours, you are learning moves that took me days to even perform remotely correctly, much less effectively. Even when I thought I'd mastered them, I could never seem to faze my teacher. And look what you've done to me." He raised his arm ruefully, indicating the blossoming bruises. He also did not voice the possibility that his endurance might be light-years behind his old master's, since that seemed to...go without saying.

Kenji impatiently swept his bamboo sword through the air, ignoring the fact that he was covered with bruises of his own. "Must just be 'cause you're a weakling. Looks like Shishou- like Shishio was right, and Seta-kun was wrong."

"Shishio Makoto thinks me to be a weakling at his own peril," Kenshin said seriously, lips tightening as he thought of the task ahead.

"Well," Kenji conceded, "he _was_ a bit interested in Hitokiri Battousai...but you say you haven't been hitokiri in centuries."

"I won't be hitokiri again _ever_," Kenshin snapped, "and neither will you, if I have anything to do with it."

Kenji suddenly grinned. "You know I'm teasing you, Dad. You're strong, and so _fast_. I was an idiot to think I would have lasted a minute against you, if you'd even bothered to lift a finger in defense."

Kenshin stared at him, a little taken aback. "Oh. Ah...well." He smiled. "You know that you will soon surpass me, Kenji. I may be stronger than you now, but believe me, that won't last long at the rate you're going. Megumi-san was right to be proud of you."

Kenji blushed uncomfortably. "Enough chit-chat!" he burst out. "Let's get on with this, we don't have all the time in the world!"

Kenshin nodded, not having forgotten the seriousness of this training. "Right. Back to work." They raised their shinai and flashed at each other once again.

o.o.o.o.o

They were out of time. Kenji realized this as soon as he caught the scent.

Kenshin had gone out and Kaoru, having been up late the night before, had fallen asleep on the couch. Kenji himself had been scrounging for tidbits to pile onto his sandwich when he sensed something wrong; at the same time, Katana pricked his ears, rolled to his feet and began to bark.

"No..." Kenji raced outside, shouting for his sisters, and crashed straight into Suzume running in. The little girl had tears streaming down her face and seemed too frightened to speak. Kenji slung her behind him ("Katana, guard!") and shoved through the back door, only to come to a dead halt.

Usui stood there grinning, relaxed and casual, except that his sword was out and he had an arm wrapped around the terrified Ayame's neck. As soon as she saw her brother, her face transformed with relief. "K-Ken-nii, please kill him quick, please kill him quick..."

"Stay cool, Aya-chan," he murmured, glaring hard at Usui.

"Hello, boy," the blind warrior greeted mockingly.

"I'll be there," Kenji said shortly, skipping all preliminaries. "_We'll_ be there. Tomorrow. Tonight. Whenever he wants. Where?"

Usui shrugged, gesturing at the girl. "I told her where. Who are you bringing?"

"Dad. Sano. Saitou."

Usui's grin widened. "The Wolf, eh? Looking forward to that."

"Fool." Kenji lost his cool for a moment; the word snapped out in offended irritation. "If you knew Saitou, you would _not_ be looking forward to that."

Usui sighed in mock exasperation. "What a child you are still." He suddenly released Ayame and pushed her toward the house. She stumbled, hurriedly regained her footing, and ran to cling to her brother. Kenji absently put an arm over her, wishing she would go inside and not get in his way like this. He knew that Usui was just a messenger, but having that man here, violating his safe haven, still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he wanted the girls to be far away from all this.

Usui continued with a condescending smile. "Be good children and give your Daddy my message. See you tonight." The next second, he was gone.

Kenji knew he was gone, but it was still very hard to put his sword down, to crouch down and comfort his sister, when what he really wanted to do was freak out and patrol the neighborhood and kill anything bad that even thought of getting too close.

"Wh-Why didn't you k-kill him? Why didn't you kill h-him, Ken-nii?" Ayame demanded, her arms tightly around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder.

Kenji held her distractedly. "He wasn't going to hurt you, Aya." _Probably._ "He was just here to give me a message. It'll be fine. Dad and I are going to take care of it tonight. We'll take care of it for good, I promise." Then, because she obviously wasn't believing him, "I _promise_."

After a minute, Ayame looked up at him. She searched his face. Then fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "Ken-nii, are you okay?"

His eyes were hot, and he suddenly realized that he was shaking. Disgusted with himself, he scooped her up, walked into the house, slid the door firmly shut behind him, and dumped her down next to Suzume. Katana leaped at him, barking anxiously.

"It's okay, mutt...good boy, good job, Katana...they're gone now, the bad guys are all gone..." It was much easier to comfort the dog than his sisters.

"They're really gone?" Suzume finally wavered.

"Yeah," Kenji said tiredly. "We'll protect you, we'll keep you safe..." He managed to stop himself before continuing with 'blah blah blah.'

Shakily reassured, Suzume ran to the living room, and when Kenji realized that she was waking up their mother, he quickly slipped back outside to hide. He couldn't face her, not when he felt like Usui's invasion had been his fault. He walked the streets with nervous energy, looking for enemies that were not there and fumbling to find his phone. "Dad, hey...you need to come home now...like, _now_..."

o.o.o.o.o

Okay, so he was wearing the hideous pink ribbon, because after all it was Suzume who had given it to him "for luck;" but that didn't mean it had to _show_. Still, it was kind of nice to have it...almost as if all the women who had become so important to him were with them now, watching over them.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Kenshin asked in the lowest of whispers, looking concerned.

"Nothing," Kenji said quickly, taking his hand away from the sleeve under which the ribbon was tied.

"Keep it down," Saitô ordered, looking irritated. Kenji just managed not to snicker. The police captain's whisper was as quiet as Kenshin's, but since his voice was deeper it sounded almost like a purr. Probably not a good idea to point that out. So instead, Kenji raised his fingers in an 'It's all good' gesture and refocused on their mission.

"It's that place," Ayame had told them earlier, "the big huge building with broken windows that they're gonna knock down. The...the man with the blindfold told me. He told me to tell you." Kenji did not like remembering that, because Ayame had burst into tears once she had delivered her message.

The place seemed deserted, but Kenji knew it was not. The scent of dragon was everywhere, and strong. He could tell that Kenshin and Saitou knew it, too, though with different senses. Sanosuke was looking a little dubious. "Oi, you sure-?"

"Yes." Kenji eyed him. "I don't know why they're taking their sweet time to show up, but they're here."

Sanosuke raised a hand dismissively. "If you say so. I'm just gettin' a little bored, that's all."

Kenji was anything but bored. Adrenaline was running through him just like on assassination trips, but this time he felt a sense of pride, too, that he was not alone on a mission this time. He was part of this team, his father and Saitô and Sano needed him, would rely on him, would have to trust him. It also made Kenji very determined to not mess up. The three men were not the only ones who would be affected by his performance. He briefly touched the spot on his arm again, where if he concentrated, he could sense the faint pressure of the ribbon. _'Mom, Megumi, Ayame and Suzume, Tomoe-nee...'_

Kenshin stopped walking. He was looking steadily behind an old peeling counter as if something important was there, but his pose was completely relaxed. Kenji frowned and stepped closer. Suddenly a strand of scent clarified itself against the general backdrop of dragon, and Kenji realized that there was someone sitting there, watching them, and who it was.

"Yahiko?"

"Yo," the boy muttered.

"Who is he?" Saitô demanded imperiously.

Kenji put his hand on his hip. "I dunno. Friend or foe, Yahiko?"

"Does it matter?" Yahiko picked up the wooden sword lying beside him, looked it in contempt, then flung it at Kenji's feet. "Not like anything I can do would make a freaking difference to anything."

Sanosuke chuckled. "Definitely your buddy, Kenji - he's just as whiny as you are."

"Hey!" Yahiko snapped, and Kenji glared indignantly.

Kenshin's voice was gentle. "Who do you name as your master, young one?"

"I'm _not_ a young one!"

"Apologies." There was a smile in Kenshin's voice. "I can see you have come a long way for someone of your years."

"He also dodged the question. Where's your allegiance, boy?" Saitou said impatiently.

Yahiko looked away and sullenly did not answer.

Kenshin looked at his son questioningly. "Kenji?"

Kenji shifted, uncomfortable. "Shishio practically raised him. He's not a bad kid, though. I dunno. We hung out." He did not know how to put it into words. Yahiko was his friend, a child who had been starving for something just as much as Kenji had. They had both loved Shishio, in a way; had been grateful for being rescued, had been in awe of his skill and gratefully seized on what he taught them.

They had also both been trapped. They had both longed for something more, cultivated their swordsmanship in an effort to belong, to matter. Neither of them had been able to capture the prize that always hung tantalizingly out of reach. _'Yahiko might choose to be our enemy, but I don't want to abandon him here.'_ It would be like abandoning himself.

"You betrayed us, Kenji," the boy accused. There was hurt in his voice.

"Yahiko," Kenji said slowly. "You know it's better, now that I left."

Yahiko's eyes narrowed.

"You're different from the others," Kenji added.

"I _know_." The boy looked like he was on the verge of either rage or tears. "I can't get as good as them. I practice all the time, _all the time_, but I'll never even come close. I'm useless. I hang around all day and do _nothing_, and nobody would care if I just - disappeared." There was an unspoken question in his eyes. _Would you care?_

Kenji was almost too irritated to notice. "That's not what I meant. You idiot. I don't care if you don't want anything to do with us, but what the freak did Shishio ever do for you?" He was arguing with himself, too, trying to convince himself that destroying his old master was the right thing. "Shishio just picked you up off the street to use you as a guinea pig. You know why his dragons are as good as they are? Because he nearly killed you trying to figure out how to make them. That's your reward, being allowed to hang around and stay out of the way. Aren't you grateful, Yahiko, for not getting kicked out once you'd served your purpose?"

Yahiko's eyes glittered. "Easy for you to say, _Kenji_. Everything's so much easier for you. You have..." He did not say it aloud, but his eyes ran across Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Saitou, and Kenji understood perfectly.

Kenji's throat suddenly tightened. _'I have a _family_? My life is so wonderful just because I have a _family_? Being kidnapped and tortured, it's all okay because there were people who supposedly_ loved_ me hanging out in the background?'_

"At least you have somewhere to go!" Yahiko cried, unaware that Kenji wanted to strangle him. "I..."

Saitou rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me, I just got rid of Eiji."

Sanosuke gave a wry laugh. "I dunno, I think I'm getting used to looking after homeless dragon brats..."

Kenshin had been watching both of the boys. "Yahiko," he said. "You would always be welcome among us."

Yahiko's jaw tightened, and his eyes flashed. Without a word, he picked up his bokutô and charged out at them.

Kenji shouted and reached for his own weapon, meaning to avenge himself, but was unexpectedly pulled out of the way by Sanosuke. "Let go of me!" he yelled, struggling to get at his sword.

Saitô had stepped aside immediately, rolling his eyes. With most of his targets quickly disappearing on him, Yahiko faltered. With a little cry, he regained his footing and swung forcefully, but Kenshin caught the blade with his sheath and swiped it aside. "I will not fight you, young one - Yahiko. Even if you choose to defend Shishio, you are not my enemy."

"They'll kill you!" Yahiko shouted at him. "Sôjirô will get you if Anji or Usui or Chou don't, and even IF you SOMEHOW survive Sôjirô, Shishio will kill you because you're _weak_ and he's not!"

Kenshin could hear what he was really saying. He smiled and said mildly, "Let's see what happens before deciding, shall we?"

The boy whirled helplessly on Kenji, who glared at him. Yahiko looked at Sanosuke, who raised an eyebrow, and at Saitô, whose face was dark with impatience and disgust. He clenched his jaw, feeling helpless. "Give me back my bokutô."

Kenshin handed it over with a smile. "Join us while we search for your companions, at least."

"They're farther up," Yahiko mumbled. He eyed Kenji. "Kenji...Shishio swore you wouldn't get out of here alive."

"He can go ahead and think that," Kenji snapped back. "I can handle myself."

Kenshin frowned and laid a stern hand on his shoulder. "Remember what we agreed on, Kenji."

"Dad-!" Kenji started to protest, since he thought it was both ridiculous and an offense on his honor that Kenshin would try to stop him from fighting his own battles. However, something in his father's face...

"Kenji."

Kenji remembered what his father had told him earlier, before they had left. _"You must trust me, Kenji."_ It was too much to ask. Kenji had thought he could, back in the sunlight where it was safe, but now he knew that it was impossible for him to trust, even though he wanted to. "Yeah, fine," he muttered. He'd let Kenshin have first go, anyway, but Kenji knew that he would be the one to end Shishio's life, just as he had done Enishi's. He could not leave something this important up to someone else.

The building was dark, since most of the lights didn't seem to work, and there was dust and debris everywhere. Not that Kenji really minded, but he did wonder a bit about the battle to come. He was used to ambushing one or two targets; it would be different now, in a group, fighting another group face-on. Maybe the lighting and the uneven footing would be more of a challenge - if so, Kenji had to be careful not to let it get the best of him. He could not afford to fail, not when Saitô and his father were watching.

Dragons were waiting for them - finally - on the third floor, though they were all flunkies. Most of them came flying out in an ambush, but when Saitô ran a couple of them through, they backed off. While Kenshin and Saitô were arguing heatedly about those two deaths, Sanosuke punched out a few more dragons who tried to take advantage of the situation, and Kenji practiced how to attack without killing.

He decided it was much harder, and probably wasn't worth it - but if it was so important to his family, he could still make the effort. _'I'm not a monster,'_ he tried to convince himself. _'Enishi and Shishio tried to turn me into one, but I'm not.'_

The idea fell flat. All he needed to do for evidence otherwise was shift his teeth into dragon fangs and run his tongue gingerly over the sharp points. _'I'm designed to damage, wound, destroy.'_ True, but even so, he would try. It was just like Shishio had said, in a way. If Kenji could accomplish his mission without shedding mortal blood, his father would be right. If he couldn't, or if he didn't survive, Shishio would be. _'Let's see who knows what's they're talking about, Dad.'_

Kenshin and Saitô finally got their acts together, sort of. The latter stalked past in a disgusted huff, heading for the next stairway, while the former turned the rest of the flunkies into groaning piles on the floor. Then they all moved on, with Yahiko trailing uncertainly behind.

They found Saitô facing down the blindfolded warrior on the next floor. "Move along," Saitô murmured, hand poised by his sword, not even glancing in their direction.

"Saitô," Kenshin started to say, a warning tone in his voice.

The police chief smiled. "Don't worry, I won't kill him."

Kenshin nodded and moved on. Kenji stared after him. _'You're just going to take the word of a wolf like Saitô? Usui'll be dead before we even see Shishio's ugly face.'_

"You're right, Captain," Usui smirked, posing like an idiot. "You're the one who's going to die."

How strange that his menace seemed to depend on his opponent - Kenji had been terrified of the man when he'd had Ayame in his power. Now, trying to get the best of Saitô Hajime, he just seemed pathetically foolish. _'You shouldn't get cocky when you're up against Saitô.'_ It occurred to Kenji that the same could be said about his father. He would have liked to stay and watch, but he was getting left behind, and he was also getting a bad feeling about what was to come. "Dad, wait..."

He slowed to a stop along with the rest of them, as they rounded a corner and found their way across the wide room blocked by a line of warriors. These were nothing like the last batch. Kenji's eyes traveled over their familiar faces, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. Anji, Chô, Kamatari, Henya. No longer his comrades - they meant to kill him, and he knew they would not hesitate for a second. He _had_ to do the same.

"Well, if it ain't the kitten," Chô laughed. His fingers brushed the hilt of his sword as bloodlust crept into his eyes.

"Hiya, Broomhead," Kenji muttered. Even as the words left his mouth, he realized that he would not be able to speak with the mockingly bantering tone he intended. He tried instead to inject hatred and disgust into his voice, but it fell flat. The emotion that was most tightening his guts was regret. _'Crap.'_ He couldn't let himself be distracted by sentimentality, there was too much at stake.

A soft figure made its way forward, and Kenji blinked in surprise to see Yumi. Her eyes passed disdainfully over him and settled on his father. "Himura Kenshin, you are welcome. I've come to escort you to your opponent."

"What are we, small fry?" Kenji burst out, insulted. So they wouldn't be fighting together...they had been singled out for a sort of hierarchical combat.

"Do you honestly think you could handle Seta, you idiot?" Yumi snapped, her composure momentarily lapsing. Then she smiled and seemed to smooth out again. "Our master no longer has any interest in you." And with that, he was dismissed. "This way, Himura-san." Talking to his father, of course.

Angered, Kenji surged forward with no particular plan in mind, but was brought to an abrupt halt when one of Chô's swords came snaking out of nowhere, slicing a crimson line across his arm. With an efficient snap, the flame-haired warrior whipped his blade back in and smirked at Kenji as he...licked at the blood that was trickling down the flat.

"Oh, GROSS, Chô! That's, like, what..._ugh_!"

Yahiko, though not bothering to duplicate Kenji's incoherency, looked equally disgusted.

"Better rethink that 'small fry' comment," Chô growled pleasantly. "Did it ever occur to ya that maybe I was holding back in our little friendly bouts?"

"Give it up, you hack, you know I'm just gonna pound you to a bloody pulp again."

"Kenji?" Yahiko ventured, "Have you, you know, counted them? Like, one, two, three, four of 'em you're going to be fighting? At the _same time_?"

Kenji became aware of his father's uneasy glance. _'Don't look at me like that, I can handle it!'_ He rested his sword confidently over his shoulder and grinned. "Don't sweat it, Yahiko. I'll catch up with you in a minute, Dad."

"Don't be overconfident," Kenshin murmured to him. Then in an even lower murmur, apparently to himself, "God knows I've had more than my share of such opponents..." He clapped Kenji's shoulder, his expression one of determined trust, and followed Yumi out of sight.

Sanosuke cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Take cover, kid," he told Yahiko, who obeyed promptly but watched with intent interest as Sanosuke charged straight at Anji, the largest warrior in the lineup.

Three of the Juppongatana at once was a bit much, and despite Kamatari's delicate looks and Henya's skeletal frailty, neither of them were opponents to take lightly. While fighting them and Chô, Kenji had to concentrate deeper than he ever had before, battling fiercely just to keep himself alive. He had no attention to spare for the world outside their whirling swords, even though he knew in the back of his mind that this was dangerous.

What if someone (Anji, for example) decided to jump him while he was busy with the first three? What if he missed some important feature about the terrain, such as that the ground was about to end under his feet? What if he was so busy with the sword strokes that he didn't notice whatever master plan they might be weaving to herd him into a more vulnerable position? Yet he had no time to even acknowledge the worry, much less do something about it. At the back of his mind was the vague thought that perhaps Kenshin and/or Saitô would finish their matches soon and come to help.

Henya let loose with another explosion, and Kenji seized the opportunity to duck backwards through the smoke in order to earn some space to think. He regulated his breathing, analyzing the battle patterns so far.

_'Stop whining. You're a Himura warrior. Three at once? Pssh, you can off these pansies no problem.'_ Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu was designed for a lone fighter against many, after all. This should be just your average, run-of-the-mill HM-R battle, right? Except that Kenshin would get mad if he killed anyone, and he was nowhere near being a master of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu anyway, and, and, and...

So many ands, but there was no time. Already he was fending off the frustratingly long reach of Kamatari's weapon while keeping an eye out for a sneak attack from one of Chô's tricky blades and he had to _keep the dang swords away from him_. "Agh!"

First blood. Not much, just a shallow cut, but Kenji was furious that it was his own flesh that had been marked, while his enemies were still completely whole. "Not for long!" Kenji shrieked furiously at them, adding a bit of more colorful language; then he swung into another attack sequence.

Deliberately Kamatari misread his move, aimed for the scythe instead, managed to score a chip on the blade. Not much of a victory at the moment, but could prove useful later. Pretended to press his advantage on the furious Kamatari, who was angrily flipping his weapon to utilize the chain; sweeping straight past him to disarm Chô instead, so satisfying to watch the weapon go flying. Now for Henya-

Pain in his side, as one of those creepy cheating swords came snaking out of nowhere and plunged into his flesh. "Chô!" Shrieking curses, Kenji smashed into Chô at Hiten Mitsurugi speed, transforming as he went. He bellowed fire right into the other dragon's face; it caused no damage, but it did obscure his vision, prompting a series of curses from Chô in turn as Kenji used the opportunity to stab a full set of claws into him. Then he nearly toppled right over on top of Chô as either Henya or Kamatari struck him in the back.

Snarling, Kenji whirled and leaped for Henya, who transformed as well and took to the air. _'No you don't,'_ Kenji thought furiously. _'No flying in front of me, no gloating; I am going to take you down!'_ He hit the wall and scrabbled up it like an insect, chunks of plaster raining down in the wake of his reckless ascent. He leaped, twisting; Henya screeched at him and tried to duck out of the way, but Kenji managed to clip one of his wings as he fell, then swiftly brought his tail around to strike Henya hard in the face. Seeing that he had thrown the other dragon off balance, Kenji gleefully transformed back again in midair. He drew his sword in a lightning-fast battoujutsu as he dropped, having just enough time to execute it before he landed heavily right on top of Kamatari, who squealed and struggled to get free. Henya came crashing down to sprawl on the floor, bleeding, not moving. "Oh yeah," Kenji crowed, "who's the best?"

"Cocky kid," Kamatari growled, now back in human form as well. "You are so dead."

Kenji sighed. "One down, two to go."

It did not get much easier, even with Henya down for the count. Chô and Kamatari just seemed to get more vicious when wounded, and Chô in particular seemed to be in Bloodthirsty Savage Mode. There was absolutely zero warmth or friendship in his eyes, it was completely drowned by the lust to kill. Kenji knew that his own eyes were glowing gold, but it wasn't the same. He felt stronger, faster, more focused, more resistant to pain; but thanks to his family, he had inhibitions that Chô entirely lacked.

_'Is it really possible,'_ he wondered despairingly at one point, _'to beat this monster without killing him?'_ Was it really possible to stop remembering Chô's cocky smile, or the teasing sparkle in his eyes when he was in a good mood?

Maybe Kamatari would be easier. Kenji had been concentrating on Chô, treating Kamatari with only preoccupied defense; but even as he switched gears, transitioning instantaneously from a block against Chô to an attack on Kamatari, pain exploded through him, seemingly out of nowhere.

The sword went flying out of Kenji's hands, and the hilt clanged right into Kamatari's head before the weapon violently settled at the base of the far wall. Kamatari dropped like a stone and did not move.

"What are you _doing_?" Chô shrieked. "You trying to kill your own allies, fool?"

"It's not my fault the boy can't keep hold of his weapon," a familiar voice rumbled.

Kenji groaned from where he was sprawling helplessly on the floor, and cursed under his breath. Anji. Coming out of nowhere with that meaty fist of his at the worst moment, just as Kenji had been afraid he would. When he looked weakly for Sanosuke, he found the man crumpled and battered at the base of a far wall, as an anxious Yahiko knelt over him. Kenji couldn't move, except his hands and feet and head, feebly. It felt like all the ribs on his right side were broken. He had serious doubts that he would be able to get to his feet.

Anji solved the problem by seizing the back of his clothes and hauling him up; Kenji screamed, feeling as if somebody had just stuck twenty knives into his side. Still couldn't move, and now his hands were trembling as an involuntary reaction from the damage to his body. Like his father, he was simply built too small and slight to be able to take Anji's hits.

Chô cackled and readied his sword. "Hold 'im for me, Anji. He's finished."

"Chô," Kenji whispered. "Come on. You're really gonna kill me?"

The other man frowned.

"So one minute we're living together and exchanging jokes, next minute we're trying to make each other die," Kenji went on wryly.

"I didn't start this fight, kid," Chô growled.

Just then Yahiko ran up, planting himself firmly between them. "Isn't it enough?" he said angrily. "Kenji and that guy over there are almost dead. We're all dragons, we're _all_ hated by normal humans. Why do we have to keep fighting each other like this when the rest of the world is already trying to kill us?"

Chô rolled his eyes. "Spare me."

Kenji felt a flickering of hope - it sounded a little like the old Chô, the normal one who had good-naturedly teased him and mocked him like an older brother. "Seriously," he said, knowing what Yahiko was trying to do. In his condition, his voice was the only weapon he had left. "You'd think we'd be on the same side, seeing as how we're all in the same boat and all."

"You know what happened to my family," Anji rumbled.

Kenji winced. He knew the story, of how Anji had escaped Enishi's service, had scraped together a life for himself in the outside world, had ended up caring for a few orphans who knew about his dragon form and loved him anyway. They had only been forging their life together for a few years when it was all taken away, by the same sort of people who were now working in the government to make the lives of dragons absolutely miserable.

Still. "You know what happened to mine, right? 'Cause of humans. The ones who killed all my other brothers and sisters. But also - 'cause of Enishi. _And Shishio._ Who're the bad guys here, Anji? Who-?" Just when Anji's face was growing still and hard with listening, just when Kenji thought he had started to get through to him, he was skewered again by one of Chô's nasty swords.

"Shut up, kid. You talk too much."

The pain was so bad that tears were leaking down Kenji's face. He tried to speak, but could not; decided he was seriously going to die, realized slowly that it was not at all a bad way to go. He had done his best to help his father on this mission. He had taken out two enemies and wounded another. He had already said all his good-byes. Technically, he was ready for death.

_'I don't feel ready.'_ He hung there in Anji's big hands and waited, because that was the only thing he could do. _'I hope they don't do it where Dad can see.'_

"Chô." It was Anji's voice. "You know I am no friend of Shishio."

Chô scowled. "So, what. You'll fight me to protect the kid? _I_ ain't betraying Shishio-sama, I'm telling you that much."

"If he stays alive. But you're no Kamatari, no Yumi, to stay loyal to him even when he's gone. If Shishio does not survive this, where will you turn, Chô?"

"You think _Battousai's_ gonna win?" Chô screeched.

"Darn right," Kenji growled, wishing he could raise his hand to wipe away the blood trickling down his face.

"Look at this boy, Chô."

Kenji blinked and glared, not liking being stared at, though he was glad to see that Chô seemed to have forgotten to stay in Bloodthirsty Savage Mode.

"He has a place where people love him and care for him, regardless of what he is. Battousai and his people are dragonkind, and yet they bear no grudge against humans, despite having suffered at their hands. You saw how he worked side by side with that police chief."

"Then he's a _traitor_."

Kenji shrieked, "Talk about my dad like that and I'll...!" Unfortunately, he could think of no suitable threat, seeing as how he had been half-crushed by a single blow and was currently dangling from an enemy's grasp, finding it difficult to breathe, much less move.

Chô smirked. "And you'll what, bleed on me? Go ahead, knock yourself out."

Kenji carefully drew in a breath, knowing he had to calm down. He thought of Megumi and Tomoe, the calmest people he knew. "Look," he tried. "How about a deal. If Dad beats Shishio, you come with us and see how to get things done. If not, fine, you can have me."

"We've already got you, kid," Chô pointed out. "Pretty lame deal, there's nothing in it for us."

"You can have my sword?" Kenji tried, a little sheepishly.

Chô rolled his eyes.

"Why don't we see how Shishio fares and decide then?" Anji suggested dryly. "Whether he lives or dies will have a great effect on our decision, I imagine."

Chô ended up going on ahead, because it took awhile for the others to get going. Anji set Kenji carefully down and set to work wrapping up his wounds.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow ow..."

Anji paused for a moment. There was a strange little smile playing over his mouth, and tears in his eyes. "Tasuke used to sound like that when Tsubaki would brush his hair."

Kenji was quiet for a moment. "...Sorry." Then he frowned. "I can't help it, you know. After you punching my ribs out and Chô running me through a few times."

"I'm not sorry to remember."

Kenji tried to keep quiet after that, but soon realized it was impossible. "Ow...ow, ow, _ow_..."

After that, all he wanted to do was just close his eyes and escape into sleep, but there were too many important things to take care of first. Wincing, Kenji crept slowly over to Sanosuke. "Geez, you really did a number on him, Anji...if he's dead, I'll kill you."

"He's not dead," the older man rumbled. "He has an endurance beyond anything I've ever seen."

"He _will_ be dead soon, though," Yahiko pointed out, "if he doesn't get some help." He eyed Kenji. "We could always...you know." He made a snapping sound with his teeth.

"Sano'd hate that," Kenji grumbled. "He's really...genuine. He wasn't born into it like me, I don't think being forced into immortality and superhuman abilities would sit well with him." That did not mean it wasn't a pain to try to transport the wounded fighter. Anji ended up carrying him, after Kenji had recovered enough to move on his own two feet. He limped slowly along like an old man, leaning heavily on Yahiko for support. In this way they reached the room where Kenshin was supposed to be fighting.

It was empty except for Sôjirô, who appeared to be casually lounging on the ground with one knee crooked up and his arm thrown over his eyes. Except that there was blood everywhere and the carpet was torn to shreds.

"Had fun, Sôji-kun?" Kenji called out.

"Too much," the other boy mumbled. "I'm afraid I underestimated your father, Kenji-san."

"W00t."

Sôjirô uncovered his eyes and rolled his head to the side so he could look at them. "Looks like you enjoyed yourself as well, Kenji-san."

"Oh yeah. Great time. We should do this more often," Kenji grumbled, wincing.

Slowly, Sôjirô climbed to his feet, looking almost as shaky as Kenji felt. "Anji-san, Kenji-san, Yahiko-kun...I think this is good-bye for now. I think...I know how it's going to end. Either way, I cannot stay here anymore."

Kenji stared at him. "Wait, what? You're leaving? Without even watching the fight?"

Sôjirô smiled sadly. "I wish you well, Kenji-san. You have a very fine family. I'm sure you have a good future ahead of you." He limped past them to leave the room. It was a very long time before Kenji ever saw him again.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: **Even though Kenshin didn't have to go through Aoshi to get to Shishio this time, he was still not fully recovered from what Kenji had done to him earlier. And of course, Sano lost to Anji because he hadn't learned the **_**Futae no Kiwami**_** attack like he did in canon.**

*sigh* So, here's what happened. I'd written the Final Battle for the original draft, then later found several significant mistakes in it. After adding all the revisions that resulted from previous revisions, such as Kenji's reunion with his friends and Usui's reappearance with Ayame and the additions of Sanosuke and Yahiko (Sano gave me sooo much trouble, though Yahiko was surprisingly helpful), I went to tackle the Final Battle scene itself. **Fight scenes are **_**not**_** my forte, so that was really hard, and for a while I had writer's block because of it.** It was a huge struggle trying to re-write a battle that I thought I'd already finished, though I was able to salvage some things from the original scene. **I still think the writing sucks, both in this chapter and the next where the fights are wrapping up.**

In the end, however, what gave me the most grief was stuff that ended up being in the next chapter. I wrestled with it a lot until I finally realized that I'd have to ditch some things I really liked and re-write the whole scene. I also realized that the Final Battle chapter had ended up a lot longer than it used to be, well over my 9,999-word chapter/one-shot limit. I was forced to break it in two, with everything through Kenji's battles as the first part, and the rest incorporated into the "Broken Wings" chapter.


	12. Broken Wings

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter 12 - Broken Wings **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

A/N: I dutifully try my best to keep away from **fanservicey bishounen torturing**, but...didn't entirely succeed with this chapter. I think Kenji baited me at the end of Chapter 1 on purpose. . **It's possible to skip over some of this chapter (starting right after the cake scene) and move on to the epilogue.**

o.o.o

Saitô had obviously walked right past Kenji's fight (_'Jerk'_) when he had finished with Usui, because he was here now in the final battle arena, sitting in an impressively casual attitude against the wall, considering the fact that both his legs were covered with blood. Chô and Yumi were standing near the other wall, looking very tense.

"Shishio-sama says it's his fight," Chô said shortly when they came in. "Stay out of it, Anji." He turned his face to them for a moment, so they could read the silent message of his expression: _'For now.'_

Kenshin was looking, if anything, even worse than Kenji. His clothes were in tatters and blood was running down his face and body. His eyes were weird. He seemed too juiced up to notice anything that did not pertain to the battle.

"Dad," Kenji whispered. He was not sure how his father was even managing to remain on his feet. Then Kenshin unleashed a fierce battle cry and a whirlwind attack - only to be brutally countered; even so, he fought back to his feet and seemed even more intensely wired than before.

Kenji learned a lot from that fight. He learned that it is possible to put aside pain ten times worse than he was feeling at the moment, and fight just as well or better than ever. He learned of the depths an enemy can stoop to for victory, especially when he has no scruples and you do. Kenji learned that the will to fight is powerful, and unquenchable when fused with the desire to protect. And, when Shishio's damaged body could take no more and burst into flames, Kenji learned that his father, even in victory, was not invincible.

"Dad! Dad, Dad, Dad!" It was a nightmare repeat of the night Kenji had returned to his family. He ripped free of Yahiko's supporting grasp and flung himself down next to his father. "Hey, stay with me, it's not freaking over yet! Mom'll kill me if I don't come home without you! _You have to come home!_"

Kenshin was staring up at him with glazed eyes, eyelids trembling. He seemed to be trying to raise a hand to touch his son's face, but did not make it very far before the hand dropped limply into Kenji's lap, and the bleeding head lolled unconscious to the side.

"DAAAD!" Kenji looked around desperately for help. Chô was standing there, mouth open, hands dangling at his sides, still stunned from the defeat of his master and obviously useless. Saitô was still carefully working on standing up. Yahiko was just a kid. Kenji's eyes finally fixed on Anji, and the tears he had refused to shed earlier now spilled down his cheeks. "Please. Please help us."

"Hey, Hôji's running off somewhere," Yahiko started to say, but everyone was ignoring him, busy with their own concerns. "...Just thought you might want to know."

Kenji felt like he was going to die. Taking each step was an adventure in itself, he had no strength left to help Anji with either Kenshin or Sanosuke. Both Yahiko and Saitô were talking, but since their tone was conversational he did not bother trying to listen. He was wholly absorbed in keeping upright and moving, and he nearly screamed when someone grabbed his shoulder to hold him back. "Ow! What are you-?" Suddenly the ground was shaking. Kenji, already unsteady to begin with, stumbled back into Saitô, the one who had caught him. "What's happening?"

"This place has a lock-down mode?" Yahiko was exclaiming.

Kenji looked up and found a heavily locked door before them. He looked back the way they had come, and noticed that the walls were shaking as well, to the accompaniment of a far-away rumbling sound.

"Hôji, probably," Anji grunted. "All evidence on the Dragon Project must be destroyed."

"Besides," Saitô added, "didn't you hear what he said back there? If Shishio will never leave this place alive, then apparently neither will we."

"No!" Kenji shouted. "We didn't come all this way justto die here!"

Saitô rolled his eyes. "Don't get hysterical. If you _are_ dying tonight, it won't be here." Studying the door, he stepped forward and took up an aggressive stance. "All of you, move back."

Once again, Kenji remembered why he admired Saitô Hajime so much, a human who had, even in this era, mastered the use of a sword so well that he was able to break through the barrier as if it took no effort. Looking perfectly cool, he sheathed his weapon again and turned back. "This is where we part ways. I can't be seen with you all."

Kenji stared at him.

"Don't let your guard down." Saitô walked past them and was gone.

With nothing else to do, they continued on again. Kenji willed his body to get its act together and stop _hurting_ just long enough for him to do important things, like taking steps, and breathing, and getting out of this crumbling death trap. His body apparently did not feel like listening. He kept stumbling, noticed a few times that the drippiness on his face was from tears of pain, ended up in coughing fits when he breathed too deeply and aggravated his broken ribs. It also did not help that the floor was being unreliable, though not as much as the ceiling, which groaned in a last warning before crashing down on their heads, weakened from the flames that had been eating at the floor above.

_'I give up,'_ Kenji thought. He could not move. If he was not so battered, he could have probably struggled his way out of the debris, but if he tried to do that in his current state, he might kill himself.

"Kenji!" he heard Yahiko shouting. "Kenji, are you okay?"

"Of course I am," Kenji croaked sarcastically. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Anji! Hey, Anji, answer me!"

The debris suddenly shifted; Kenji swore as his body was jolted. He thought he could hear Sanosuke mumbling something.

"Here," Anji grunted.

There were scraping and thunking sounds. "Anji, help me get them out!"

"Kenji," Anji called out, "can you shift? It will help."

Kenji could see what he meant. Moving to a bigger size might cause a lot of the debris that was pinning him to slide off. Clenching his teeth together, he began carefully transforming, wishing that he could feel through his scales so that he would be better able to tell if a burning chunk of broken wood, like that one, was about to roll over one of his wounds. "Ow! Gah, that hurt..." He thrashed a little, trying to work himself free. "I'm out. Mostly."

"It's so hot," Sanosuke was gasping. "Someone help me, it's..."

"Be there in a second," Kenji said distractedly, trying to flip carefully upright with Yahiko's help.

Anji was pulling some of the bigger pieces of debris off of where bloodied bits of Kenshin's clothes were trailing through the dust and plaster, marking where he had fallen. "Himura, can you hear me? I know you can't shift here, but I'll have you out soon."

"I can hear you," Kenshin answered weakly. "I..." There was movement, muffled voices; then Anji had an arm around Kenshin and was hauling him to his feet. "Sano," Kenshin was saying urgently. "He-"

It suddenly occurred to Kenji that the fires were actually a problem, and a big one. He had not even registered them before, but now, wondering if maybe his father's human form was not immune to flame the way all the hybrids were, he realized that one of their number was not even a dragon at all. They had to get him out of the burning debris _now_.

Sanosuke suddenly screamed out a curse, as the flames flared up where he was trapped. "_Kenshin_!" he shouted.

His clothes were on fire. Forgetting to be careful, Kenji dove forward and seized Sanosuke's hand in his mouth, the first part of him he could reach. He dragged himself closer and sank teeth deeper into flesh. He sensed Anji and Yahiko stumbling toward them, unsteady among the mess as they started digging out the rest of Sanosuke, who had not stopped crying out.

"Kenji, what's happening?" Kenshin called, mostly helpless against the wall.

Kenji twitched his tail in the dragon signal for "wait," then, when it was enough, he slowly withdrew and collapsed back against the wall beside his father in human form. "Bit him," he said shortly. "Crap, I didn't want this to happen...Sano's gonna kill me."

"He might be dead or crippled otherwise," Kenshin sighed.

It was clear that speaking was difficult. Kenji peered anxiously up at him, but Kenshin just smiled, a gesture that still managed to be comforting despite the ghastly state of his bloody face. "You okay?"

"I'm hanging on," Kenshin said grimly. He wiped an arm across his face, and Kenji realized that he was sweating.

"Will you burn?" Kenji asked urgently. He glanced at the fire that surrounded them, licking closer and closer to their feet.

"As a human, my tolerance is much higher than it used to be, but I need to get out of here soon," Kenshin said quietly.

Kenji swore and struggled back to his feet. "Can you...walk on your own?"

"...Maybe."

Kenji swore again. "Neither can I." He called to Anji, since both Sanosuke and Yahiko were too busy yelling at each other to pay attention. "Anji! Some help here!"

"Please," Kenshin added.

The big man approached through the flames, looking like some evil spirit in his state of dishevelment, with the black marks around his eyes emphasized against the sulky light. "I don't think we will be able to get to the ground floor through all this. I suggest we fly."

"You will have to carry me," Kenshin said.

Anji nodded. Then he looked questioningly at Kenji, who gritted his teeth. "Whatever," he snapped.

Anji helped the two of them along, as the others trailed in their wake. Sanosuke, still a mess but now strengthened enough to walk, could not seem to shut up. "...and my _teeth_, it's like biting my tongue every two seconds, how do you talk through these?"

"Retract them," Yahiko said.

"What? How?"

"Dude, I don't know! Just - pull them in!"

Sanosuke pushed at the sharp points with no effect.

"Open your mouth wide and swallow," Anji suggested. "You'll get used to it, it will become second nature."

"And don't think about meat," Yahiko added.

"Dang it, Yahiko, they came back! Aw, my mouth _is_ bleeding..." Sanosuke frowned and touched his lips, then inspected the liquid that had smeared on his fingertips. Some of it was blood, but the rest... "What's this brown stuff? It tastes like crap."

"It's venom."

"Gah!" Sanosuke started spitting it out before Yahiko explained that he had produced it and was immune to it now.

"You can't turn yourself into a dragon if you already are one."

Sanosuke stopped walking for a minute and just stood there, swearing softly. Then he turned and experimentally torched the wall.

"Watch it!" Kenji yelled at him. "This place is already falling apart, don't help it along!"

Sanosuke ignored him, studying the blackened expanse he had created. He nodded. "That could come in handy. Maybe." Then he frowned and swiped at his lips again. "Now what's _this_ crap?"

"Protective coating, so you don't cook your own mouth," Yahiko said in exasperation. "Can we please _go_ already? You can play around outside!"

They made their way to a wide open room with large windows, two of which had been shattered and a third with a large crack running almost all the way across it. The scattered piles of debris across the floor had caught fire, and half the room was full of rubble from where a section of the roof had collapsed.

Yahiko hurried over to one of the broken windows and looked down. "There's an overgrown lot over there," he reported. "It looks like the street light beside it is out, so we might be able to make it down without being seen."

"You can meet us there," Anji said. Yahiko nodded, shrugged out of his shirt, spread his wings, and took off.

Sanosuke watched in amazement. "He's flying! The little punk is actually-!" Then he fell silent and just stared.

"Now it's your turn."

Sanosuke twisted his head to glare up at Anji. "You're joking."

"You might want to take your jacket off," Kenji suggested.

"You're new to this. I'll bring these two on my own," Anji said.

"What are you-?"

Anji put out one of his big hands and shoved Sanosuke out the window.

"Was that wise?" Kenshin said in alarm.

"Trust me, instinct will take over," Kenji said darkly.

They could hear Sanosuke yelling and cursing all the way down. When they looked out, they could see him moving about on the ground below, still yelling furiously.

"What is he doing? Get away from the building, you idiot!" Kenji shouted.

Sanosuke stared up at him. "I can hear you!"

"Yeah, so do what I told you!"

"How can I hear you when you're all the way up there?"

"One of the perks, now _move your butt_!"

"He's not moving," Kenshin observed.

Kenji shot Anji a pleading glance. "Can you...?"

Anji nodded. "I'll be back for you soon."

An explosion behind them rattled the entire building. Although the structure still managed to hold together, more debris rained down, and the creaking and groaning had gotten a lot louder.

"Take your time."

Kenshin frowned. "Wait a minute. Kenji, why aren't you coming with us?"

Kenji turned away sullenly until he heard them leave. Then he took a deep breath and edged as close as he could to the window frame, looking down. _'So easy...it should be so easy...'_ It wouldn't be, of course. If he was already healthy and only a few floors above ground level, he would have been able to make it. He'd wreck his body for a while, but it was doable. Now, trapped so high up... It was horrible, feeling so helpless. "Come back for me," he whispered.

Anji did not let him down. The man returned, reaching out to take hold of him.

"You didn't tell Dad anything, did you?"

"No. But surely you realize he has already guessed."

"..."

They met the others in the darkened lot, where Kenshin was sitting behind a stack of rotting crates and Yahiko was shaking his head as he watched Sanosuke, who was ranting about his shredded white jacket.

"Told you you should've taken it off," Kenji said as they arrived.

"Look at it! Completely totaled!" Sanosuke's wings were still out, and now he glared at them. They were twitching and jerking, occasionally snapping open and closed at random. He did not have control over them yet. "How do I get rid of these things? And _don't_ just say 'retract them,' you little brat!"

"It's like _breathing_ to me," Yahiko said indignantly. "I don't even remember not being a dragon."

"Clear off the rest of your shirt and press your back against a wall," Anji instructed. "You might have to use your hands to pull the ends in first, but they'll slip in pretty easily. Most of the time you won't even notice them."

As Sanosuke went storming off to try it, Anji carefully helped get Kenji settled next to Kenshin. Then he straightened and looked at them seriously. "I will have to leave you here. There are others who need my help."

"We'll manage," Kenji muttered.

Anji nodded, then turned and left without further delay.

Kenji sighed, leaning his head back against the soft wood of the crates. "Yahiko," he said with his eyes closed, "you think you and Sano can go steal a car for us or something?"

"Borrow," Kenshin amended. "We will _borrow_ a vehicle, with every intention of returning it."

"Sure."

Yahiko's eyes were gleaming. "Man, it really paid off being your friend, Kenji. This is gonna be _so fun_."

"Get a van or some such," Kenshin added sternly. "You will be transporting injured people, not joyriding.

"Aw...how about a Porsche _and_ a van?" Yahiko said mischievously. Then he yelped at the former assassin's warning Look. "Just kidding, just kidding!" He turned to Sanosuke, who had succeeded in retracting his new wings and was now craning his head back as if looking for them again. "Oi, Sano! We're gonna go steal a car!"

"Really? Awesome!" Looking way too excited about their mission, the two young men hurried off.

"Sano's limping," Kenji observed, frowning. "Still looks like he got the snot beat out of him..." He sighed. "At least he can walk." He glanced down at himself ruefully.

"And fly," Kenshin added softly.

Kenji stiffened.

For a long time neither of them spoke. Finally Kenshin said, "Were you really too injured to fly down yourself?"

An escape. Kenji seized it without even thinking. "Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"You knew that instinct would take over. You've fallen before."

An involuntary shudder went through him, and Kenji angrily pressed back against the crates, trying to force his body to be still. "I don't want to talk about this."

"When shall we talk about it, then?"

"Never, okay!"

"Kenji."

Kenji looked away. He reached out a hand to rip out a few tufts of grass beside him, but the action sent pain shooting through his ribs again, so he gave up and lay still.

"The girls tell me things. Ayame thinks there is something wrong with your wings. She said...they were all twisted."

"They tore them, okay?" Kenji whispered, sick with apprehension. "When I was five. I think it was an accident...he was so angry when he found out. But it didn't matter, they healed wrong and now I...can't use them. Much." When he had been captured almost a year ago, he had thought that he would have preferred broken limbs over the pain from instinctively cushioning his fall the way he had.

There was a long moment of grim silence. Kenji could not bring himself to look at his father, and eventually found himself talking just to fill the unbearable silence. "I hate dragons, and I hate flying. I _hate_ them. After that I never shifted unless he forced me. I never wanted to hear your voices again. I didn't even know who you all were, just that you were so nice and told such awesome freaking lies and you kept asking questions I couldn't answer and even after all that, you never helped me, never when I really needed you."

Kenji shut his eyes, furious at his own anger. "You couldn't help me. I _know_ you couldn't, but it doesn't matter." Tears were running down his face as he remembered. Kindness in the darkest moments, love when things were at their worst, voices telling him of a completely different world, where not everyone was cruel, where he had a place he belonged. "Thank you...for being there," he whispered. "I would have died without you."

He jerked away as something touched him. He looked over and realized that Kenshin was reaching for him, though the man's face was hidden and still he said nothing.

Hesitantly, Kenji reached out to meet him this time, and Kenshin seized his hand, gripping it so tightly that Kenji suddenly understood that he was overcome, not repulsed. "It wasn't your fault, either," Kenji murmured. "You were trying to find me, weren't you. I was so little, so stupid, I didn't even _realize_." He could not stop crying. "I didn't know...even if I had figured out what you wanted, I had nothing to tell you...you would never have found me..." If not for Megumi and Saitô. They were his real saviors, the ones who had taken his hands and led him out of darkness. "Why can't I forgive you?" Kenji wailed. He reached up to dig the nails of his other hand into his scalp, as if trying to physically force a shift in thinking. "I _know_! So why can't I?"

"I am so sorry I wasn't there for you," Kenshin whispered. "I failed you."

_'It's not true,'_ Kenji thought, _'it wasn't his fault, he did all he could, so why is it exactly what I need to hear, why is it...?'_

They had pulled themselves together by the time Sanosuke and Yahiko got back. "We saw this sweet truck parked outside a club," Yahiko announced, "but we _left it alone_. We got you a boring old van instead."

"Sorry about the logo," Sanosuke added as he pulled the doors open, "but the seats are pretty wide. Or else we can take them out and you can lie on the floor, your pick."

"Thank you, Sano," Kenshin said graciously. His tone gave away nothing of the fury he was preoccupied with. _'Kenji...I wish so much that I could protect you.'_ Frustration boiled hotly. _'Why can't I ever protect you?'_

Yahiko peered at him. "Your face looks cleaner than it did before."

"Mind your own business," Kenji snapped.

On the way home, he worried about the family they had left behind, vulnerable to enemies who might have been sent after them in the men's absence, but Kenshin reassured him. "Your mother is not exactly a weakling. They'll be all right."

Sure enough, as soon as the two of them set foot on the lawn, the front door of the house burst open and they were descended upon by an insanely barking dog and two triumphantly shrieking little hatchlings. "Daddy! Ken-nii! You're home, you're home! You beat those bad guys _good_, right?"

"Of course not," Kenji said, pretending to be insulted even as he ruffled Ayame's hair and tried to fend of Katana. "We beat 'em _bad_. They won't be bothering any of us again." He blushed a little when Ayame gazed up at him adoringly, and Kenshin laughed as he gingerly cuddled Suzume in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Your brother is right. Everything is all right now."

Kaoru was approaching, apparently attempting to give them a dignified welcome, but she had only made it down the porch steps before holding back apparently became too much for her. She burst into a run and, crying, flung her arms around the necks of her men, squashing the girls between them all. "Kenshin! Kenji! I'm so glad you're safe, I'm so glad!"

"Ow! _Tadaima_," Kenji mumbled happily, working a hand free so he could pat her back. "We're fine, Mom."

Kenshin rested his face against hers and kissed her softly. "Dearest one," he murmured, and she turned her head so she could kiss him properly. This prompted shrieks from the girls and hurried attempts from Kenji to extricate himself.

Sanosuke watched, grinning a little, then headed for the house. His steps slowed when he saw his sort-of girlfriend waiting for him. He stared at her, and she stared back expectantly. Then, to her surprise, he suddenly looked away and shoved past her into the house without a word.

Yahiko had also been watching everything, hanging back uncertainly, half-hidden behind the open car door. He tensed when Kenshin suddenly turned and looked at him, beckoning with a smile. For a moment, Yahiko's mind was a blur of panic, and he had not decided what to do before Kaoru was coming over to him, smiling and holding out her hand.

"So, you're Yahiko-kun?" she said. "It's nice to meet you! I guess you'll be staying with us for a while, huh?"

He glared. Surely she wasn't okay with this, being forced to house a stranger and an enemy like him at the last minute. "Why would I want to when that ugly face of yours gives me a headache just looking at it?"

She gasped. "You ungrateful little brat!"

_'I knew it.'_ Yahiko shrugged loftily. "I can take care of myself anyway, it's just that Kenji and Kenshin dragged me along-"

Kaoru grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Don't give me that B.S., you little brat! You wouldn't last a second on the streets!"

"Shows what you know, you hag! I've taken down thugs three times my size!"

"With those spindly little arms? Don't make me laugh!"

"Watch it, you want me to take _you_ on?"

"Go ahead and give it a try, you little punk!"

As they went for each other's throats, Kenshin, who had been watching in concern, now smiled and fell back. "Seems like they will get along splendidly."

Meanwhile, Kenji had succeeded in getting a firm grasp on Katana's ruff, which served the dual purpose of restraining the dog's antics and providing a support for Kenji to lean on. He did not the idea of seeing his sisters stained with any blood from his wounds. "Come on," he told the girls, "Let's go in, I'm beat. Any chance the baths've been warmed up already?"

"Yeah, but Aunt Megumi's gonna check you first," Ayame explained bossily. "She said, 'Don't let them set a single toe past the living room before I've seen to them!'"

_'Megumi,'_ Kenji thought. Not hearing the girls' continued chatter, he proceeded to the porch, where Megumi was standing with her feet apart, one hand on her hip and the other grasping a first aid kit. "Looks like you survived," she said, nodding as if she expected nothing less. Then she smiled. "I'm proud of you, kiddo."

His heart glowed even as he said challengingly, "Now how do you know we did it, and that bast-" he glanced at the girls, "...that Shishio didn't escape or something?"

"It's obvious, just from looking at you two and those triumphant smiles. Now, hurry up and get in here, and don't bother trying to play the tough guy."

He smiled. "Okay."

"Are you hurt bad, Ken-nii?" Suzume asked with a little worried frown.

"Nah. That flame-broiled weakling couldn't hurt me if he tried."

Megumi rolled her eyes and herded the young Himuras inside, where Tomoe offered them things to eat and drink as Megumi set to work.

It took about a month for them to recover sufficiently. Saitô was apparently stalling for them by mopping up any hybrid dragons who had escaped after the deaths of Yukishiro and Shishio; Kenji stayed quietly at home and no one with a badge came to pound on the door.

Even when it seemed to be safe, Kaoru was still unwilling to let the girls return to school, so she and Kenshin continued to tutor them at home - as well as Kenji, whose sickbed protests went unheeded. "If you're well enough to play video games and talk on the phone with Kimi-chan all day, you're also certainly well enough to write a report on the Satsuma Rebellion, so get to it before I hit you again!"

They got by on the interest from various investments Kenshin and Kaoru had made over the years. Megumi was able to return to work, and Sanosuke was able to return to...whatever he had been doing before he had been pressed into service as a bodyguard/baby-sitter for the Himura children. The Kiyosatos moved into a home nearby, and were soon on friendly terms with the whole family again. Although Kaoru and Yahiko's stormy relationship never got past the friendly snark stage, Yahiko seemed to be perfectly happy in his new home, especially whenever Kenshin agreed to help him train.

If Kenji noticed a marked absence of warmth between Megumi and Sanosuke, he did not show it. Megumi, however, could only take so much.

The doorbell rang. Sanosuke went to answer it, saw who it was, and shut the door again in her face.

Then he paced in agitated circles, his fingers itching to throw something, until his cell phone rang. He stared it. Was tempted to roast it. Remembered how much money it would take to replace, so he didn't.

Then she started pounding on the door, so hard that he could see the liquid in a half-empty bottle of beer start to quiver. "Sagara! _Open this door!_"

He opened his mouth to shout "No!", but closed it again before speaking when he realized how much like a little kid it would make him sound. Gritting his teeth, he went and opened the door, just in time for her fist, whether by accident or intention, to come down one last time and imbed itself in his chest.

"_Ow_!" Sanosuke reeled back, coughing. "Dang it, woman!"

Megumi shoved her way in and slammed the door behind her. "So now that we've finally forced Kenji into his wonderful happily ever after, the plan's over and you have no more use for me, is that it?"

"What? What are you talking about?" He glared at her, and she glared back.

"What are you doing for dinner tonight, Sagara?" she asked bitterly.

"Dinner?" Most of his evenings in the past few weeks entailed either getting drunk at gambling houses or falling asleep in front of the TV.

"Wow, I don't think it's an act, you really do have no brains," she snarled. "Looks like I'm really not missing out on anything after all." She whirled as if to leave, but then her footsteps slowed and her hand rested on the doorknob without turning it. He could not see her face when she whispered, "So why does it still hurt so much?"

Sanosuke rubbed the back of his neck, having the uneasy feeling that something was his fault, though he wasn't sure what. He really, really needed Megumi to be far away from him right now, but at the same time, the sight of her about to leave was strangely painful. "Takani."

Her shoulders tensed.

"...I thought you hated me."

Her hand tightened on the doorknob. "I do."

Something about that did not make sense. "Uh...why'd you come here?"

"Good-_bye_, Sagara." She ripped open the door and marched out of it.

Sanosuke found himself running after her. He stood there in the corridor outside his apartment, clutching the railing, his eyes watching intently as she got to the end of the hall and began to descend the stairs. _'I want her here...I want her- I'm not the same person I used to be. She won't want me.'_ He could feel the strange new muscles in his back shifting uneasily. _'Gah, you moron, she already hates you.'_ His teeth were grinding together again.

He ripped off his jacket and shirt, and just when she had reached the deserted ground floor, he vaulted over the railing and landed in a heavily graceful crouch almost at her feet. _'I'm getting better at this,'_ he realized distractedly. He rose and looked her straight in the eye for the first time in weeks, leaving his wings out, making it blatantly clear what he had become.

Megumi's eyes widened and she stared at him in shock, her mouth hanging open a little. His hand started to move and he forced it back down to his side when he realized that he had meant to stroke those luscious, inviting lips. _'You don't have the right to even try anymore, Sagara,'_ he reminded himself.

She turned away from him and moved unsteadily to one of the unbroken benches lining the walls, where she sat down and rested her forehead on her open palm. After a minute, he slid his wings back in and went to sit on the opposite end of the same bench, waiting. "I didn't want to tell you," he explained. Man, if he had realized how lame that would sound out loud, he would have gone and confessed much sooner. Now he looked like a coward. "You were dating Sagara Sanosuke, you know," he tried to backpedal. "Not one of the freaking dragons who made your life miserable."

After a minute, she raised her head again and looked at him intensely, as if taking in every detail. He could not maintain eye contact and her scrutiny made him squirm, but at the same time he did not want to be anywhere else except here, at her side, for whatever little time he might have left. Then his startled eyes met hers again as she took hold of his chin to turn his face back to her, and at her touch he did not dare breathe for fear of breaking the spell that this enchantress had cast over him.

"Well," she mused softly, "not all dragons are monsters. Maybe I could get used to you like this." She leaned forward, closed her eyes, and touched her lips to his. Then she pulled back.

_'You have got to be kidding me.'_ He seized her head and dragged her close again, kissing her as he had not even dared to do before, on their pretend-dates. Her response was fierce and passionate, so that it was all he could do to remember that this was a less-than-ideal location for amorous encounters. Not that there was anything he felt capable of actually doing about it, which was why it was probably a good thing that she eventually pulled back again.

"Yes," she said decisively, "I can definitely get used to you like this."

o.o.o.o.o

Ayame and Suzume began begging for another party, "'Cause we beat the bad guys! We have to CELEBRATE! With cake."

"Chocolate," Suzume supplied.

"And red icing, and those sparkly candles we saw at the store," Ayame continued. "Suzume wants them too, Mommy! So does Ken-nii."

"Dream on, Ayame!" Kenji yelled back.

However, there was no escaping the sparkly candles, and a couple of days later Kenji sat slumped deeply in a chair, studiously ignoring them as his sisters (helped by Kimi and Kakeru) clamored with excitement.

"Hurry, Suzume, blow them out before the sparklies run out! And DON'T SET THE CAKE ON FIRE THIS TIME!"

"I'm not!" Suzume screamed. "Mommy I'm not gonna burn the cake Neechan's being MEAN!"

"_Kimi_ gets to blow out candles, too," Kimi pouted.

"So does _Kakeru_," Kakeru added, in a teasingly high-pitched, third-person mimic of his friend's voice.

"Just shut up and blow the candles out," Kenji snapped.

"Kenji-kun..." Daisuke murmured with an uneasy laugh.

"_You_ shut up and blow the candles out!" Ayame yelled back.

"Oh, look, your sparklies are disappearing," Kenji said snidely.

Ayame gasped in alarm and blew so hard at the candle flames that she accidentally spit. Sanosuke rolled his eyes, Suzume and Kimi shrieked in differing expressions of indignation, Daisuke sweatdropped, and Kyouya took inexplicable notes as the women laughed and Yahiko made a disgusted sound like "Gah!"

"Nice going, Aya."

"It's still clean, Ken-nii!"

"I wanted to blow candles, too!" Suzume shouted.

Ignoring her, Ayame tried to wipe off the top of the cake and then stared at her icing-covered fingers in dismay. She glared at her brother, then shot a sheepish, questioning glance at her father before sticking her icing-ey fingers in her mouth to slurp. Kakeru, apparently highly amused, swiped his finger in the cake's ruined icing for his own sampling.

"Now your mouth's all red," Kenji observed. "You look like you've been eating a live sheep."

"I don't eat sheep," Ayame said haughtily. "There's nothing around here but cats and raccoons, anyway."

Megumi was still wondering if that statement meant what she thought it did when Sanosuke abruptly got to his feet and escaped to the hallway with a frantically muttered, "I did not just hear that, I did not just hear that, I did _not_ just hear that..."

"What's with him?" Kakeru wondered.

"Kenji-kun, you guys don't really eat...those things, do you?" Daisuke exclaimed.

Kenji slapped his own stomach with exaggerated relish. "Can't get enough of 'em, man."

Kyouya's pencil scribbled furiously across the page of his notebook.

"Kyouya. Dude. I was joking."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow.

"...Mostly."

Kenshin laughed. "I'll make a fresh cake for our more fastidious guests...Kenji, come help me."

"Cooking's for girls," Kenji answered, as haughty as his sister, despite the fact that he had put together quite a lot of meals for himself before coming to live with this family.

"Don't be a butt," Megumi ordered, smacking his leg, and Kenji got up sheepishly to accompany his father to the kitchen.

It was not until after the party, when the girls had been put to bed and everyone except Megumi and the Kiyosatos had left, that Kenshin finally brought up what had been bothering him all these weeks. "Megumi-san, Tomoe-san. I was wondering if you would do something for us."

Everyone looked at him expectantly, and something in his voice caused Kenji to narrow his eyes in suspicion. Kenshin glanced at him, then continued. "I was wondering if, with Kenji's consent, you would be willing to examine his wings, and tell us if...if anything can be done."

Kenji sprang to his feet at once. "No," he snapped, before either of the addressed women had time to reply.

Kaoru frowned. "His wings?"

Kenshin looked her straight in the eye. "That night, after we had fought the dragons and were trying to get to the ground. Someone had to carry him," he said, in such a meaningful tone, with such restrained anger in his eyes, that Kaoru understood almost at once. Her head jerked around to face her son. "Kenji?" she said sharply.

"Don't look at me like that," he snarled, backing away.

Kenshin stood and moved toward him carefully, trying to hide his anger at those who could no longer suffer it. "Calm down," he said soothingly. "We're trying to find out if it is somehow possible for your flight to be restored."

Kenji realized that he had his arms wrapped around himself, and he abruptly dropped them. "My wings are gone," he said flatly, "beyond repair. Don't touch them."

"Kenji," Kaoru whispered. It cut her to the core. All those long, lonely, heartbreaking years of being a despised dragon, flying had been the one brightness in her life. That her son had been denied even this was intolerable.

"Don't look at me like that!" he cried angrily.

Kaoru took a deep breath to get herself under control. "Kenji," she said quietly, though in her heart she was raging and weeping, "We love you. We could never be ashamed of you, _never_. You don't have to be afraid."

"Who says I'm afraid?" he screeched. His eyes rolled wildly around the room. Both Tomoe and Megumi sat tensely, not saying a word, with Akira glancing between them uncertainly.

Kenji squeezed his eyes shut and stood there for a minute, his hands tightly clenched. Then he suddenly strode forward and shoved his father violently toward the girls' room. "Get out," he snarled. "Get _out_!"

Kenshin nodded at once and pulled Akira out with him. Kenji barreled around, making sure that doors were shut and curtains closed, finally yanking off his shirt and flinging it at the wall, where it collapsed to the floor in a soft heap. Then he stood there, breathing deeply, unable to still his trembling.

There were scars on his back. Feeling sick at the sight of them, Kaoru went to put her arms around her son. "Kenji," she said softly.

He sucked in a hissing breath and clung to her for a moment, his face pressed hard against her shoulder. Then, with no warning other than a further tensing of his already stiff body, he began to unfurl his wings.

It was a long, difficult process, nothing like the naturally effortless gesture it should have been. As the flesh of his back stretched, broke, and bled, Kaoru thrust her sleeve into her mouth and bit down hard to keep from crying out in horror; she did not notice that Kenji was only able to keep silent because he also had his own hand clenched between his teeth.

Megumi, despite being used to the sight of gore, had her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. Only Tomoe watched with an impassive expression, though her lips were pressed together and her dark eyes glittered.

At last it was over. Kenji's knees gave out and he sank to the floor in his mother's arms, both of them silently weeping. Blood was dripping heavily down his back, staining clothes and carpet; his wings stretched out awkwardly behind him, unnaturally twisted and glistening wetly crimson.

"It hurts," he whimpered, so softly that they almost didn't hear him. Then he made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "Sorry."

"No," Kaoru whispered fiercely, clutching him close, though taking care not to hurt him further. "No. Don't be sorry. It's nothing to be sorry for. I love you, Kenji, I love you like my body craves breath, I'll always be so proud of you..."

Kenji gripped those words in his mind as he held as still as he could and tried not to notice the gentle hands at his back. It did not hurt as much now that the ripping part was over, though he determinedly avoided thinking about when he would have to draw them back in again. Instead, he let his head rest against his mother's shoulder, and concentrated on the pattern of her shirt so close to his eye, and felt her warm arms around him, supporting him. Occasionally he winced, but otherwise worked to keep his breathing under control.

"We're done, Kenji," Tomoe finally said. "You did well."

Kenji lifted his head, which felt as if someone had been cramming it full of rocks. "This is _it_," he told them in a voice that sounded like it had been dragged over gravel before it left his mouth. "I'm not pulling out my wings again, so you _better_ be finished. No last minute stuff you forgot."

The women glanced at each other. "Maybe we should call Kenshin-san in first...?" Megumi started, but Kenji spun on his knees to face her fully, his breathing harsh. "_No._"

"All right, all right," Megumi said soothingly, though she looked a little panicked.

"Go ahead, Kenji," Tomoe said gently. "We won't call them back until you're ready."

After a minute, Kenji's breathing slowed and he nodded. He closed his eyes, and there was a quiet pause as he gathered his strength again. Then began the ordeal of retracting the tortured, quivering wings. Kaoru could not stand to watch and this time it was she who buried her face against her son's shoulder, unable to hold back her sobs. Kenji clenched his teeth together and snarled at himself, _'I will not cry, I will not cry, I'm not a girl or a baby, I can take this...'_ The tears of pain brimmed against his tightly closed eyelids, but he did not let a single one fall.

When it was over he leaned against his mother, completely exhausted. He was going to have to sleep facedown for a while, though there was no way he was going to tell them that.

Tomoe came over to wipe the blood away and offer him his shirt. "May we call them back now?"

"No," he insisted, pushing himself shakily to his feet. "No, not yet." He guided his still-crying mother into a chair in a shadowed corner and re-arranged the room back to its normal state, except for a throw rug, which he dragged over the large bloodstain on the carpet so that it was completely covered. Then he sat down beside Tomoe and pulled over a couch throw to conceal the blood that had dripped onto his jeans, looking utterly drained. "Okay," he mumbled.

When Kenshin returned, he looked first at Kenji, who was sitting up straight but with a clenched jaw and bright eyes that stared straight ahead. Immediately after that Kenshin sought out his wife, and it was not reassuring to see her half-hidden in the corner, wiping away tears and looking as if she was trying hard not to produce more. He looked demandingly at Megumi, who was white-faced, and Tomoe, who seemed almost as tired as Kenji. "Tomoe-san? Megumi-san?"

"It's bad," Megumi said flatly. Kenji threw her a look, but said nothing.

Kenshin's heart clenched. "Then...?"

"At the moment," Tomoe said quietly, "he would be better off with no wings at all."

Kenshin found himself groping for a chair near Kaoru, which he sank into. Their hands slid into each other and grasped tight. "Kenshin," Kaoru whispered, but said nothing else. He knew she would tell him later.

"However," Tomoe went on, "I think...there may be a possibility - not to completely repair them, it is too late for that, but at least a limited restoration would be wise to attempt."

"And this would entail?" Kenshin said, very quietly.

"Not surgery," Kenji snapped at once. "I am never, _ever_ letting a knife touch me again."

There was a very long pause. Then Megumi took his hand and said his name in such a tone that he was forced to look at her. "Kenji. Listen to me. These wings of yours have been damaged, and now they continue to damage _you_. If we don't take steps, it will get worse and worse until you will be completely crippled and in constant, severe pain. Keeping your wings as they are now will shorten your life, and make what's left of it a nightmare. If something can be done to prevent that-"

Kenji had been shaking his head, and now he broke in. "No! No, no, no, _no_, I'm NOT doing it!" There was panic in his eyes, for even as he screamed against the proposition, he knew that there was no way he could live the sort of life they were describing. He was a warrior, a swordsman; he could _not_ endure living as the helpless, pitiful creature he was apparently to become. He would sooner slit his own wrists.

His parents rose and came over to him. He shot to his feet and glared furiously at them, hands half-raised as if to ward them off. Undeterred, his father gently took hold of one hand, his mother held the other. Kenji's mouth came open in surprise, but before he could speak, their voices came to him, soft with grief and love and...pride. Suddenly he was blinking back tears again.

"This is your decision to make, Kenji."

"You must be strong."

"Yes. Whichever path lies ahead of you will be filled with pain and difficulty."

"We love you. Whatever your choice, we will be with you every step of the way. That is a promise."

Kenji wrenched free and fled to his room.

o.o.o.o.o

"I won't take anesthetic."

Kenshin and Kaoru looked up in surprise, having just settled down in the living room together after putting the girls to bed. It was good to finally have Kenji out of his room and talking to them again.

"What?"

Kenji crossed his arms and glared, as if daring them to argue. "_I won't take anesthetic._ I _refuse_ to be doped up. S-Strap me down if you have to, I don't care, but I will be _fully conscious_ for every _second_ of it, and no one _touches_ me except Tomoe-nee and Megumi and you two." He swallowed and looked both ashamed and defiant. "That's the other thing. Both of you there the _whole time_, and _no one_ else in the room."

"Are you...talking about the surgery?" Kaoru fumbled.

Forcing out the words through gritted teeth, "Those are the conditions. No anesthetic. You four in the room; no more, no less. Got it?"

His parents glanced at each other. "I think we should call Megumi-san."

When the five of them had settled around the living room, Kenji sulking in a corner with the adults all looking at him, Tomoe spoke. "Sweetheart, I know this is difficult for you. I know that there are some things you think you can't bring yourself to endure. But..."

"No!" Kenji shouted, still glaring at the wall.

Megumi frowned. Then she said in her best You Will Obey Immediately voice, "Kenji, come here."

Kenji wandered over and sat down at his parents' feet in sullen compromise, glaring at the ground and shrugging off the comforting hand one of them tried to put on his shoulder.

Megumi went on, "Kenji, doing the surgery without anesthetic is..." She looked at his face and realized she could not say 'out of the question' without him shutting down completely. "...is not the best idea. Neither is letting two understandably overprotective warriors in sight of _anyone_ making their son bleed, no matter how good the reason."

She watched Kenshin and Kaoru straightening stiffly, obviously struggling hard to stay silent. "Don't you remember that incident with Takahashi Kimiko and her parents?" Megumi added, reminding him about one of the many stories from her work she had shared with him. "This would probably be ten times worse." She sighed. "And, honey...much as I appreciate your confidence in our abilities, neither Tomoe-san nor I are surgeons. We're not going to be able to do most of the work ourselves, though we might be able to help a little."

Kenji sat there, hugging himself tightly, not saying a word. After a long time he whispered brokenly, "Megumi...why are you asking me to do this?"

She ignored her breaking heart and the looks on his parents' faces and went over to him. "Because you're strong," she said, taking his hands and managing to smile, "and you're a good man, and I know - we _all_ know - that you can do this, Kenji."

He stared at her, his eyes huge with terror and amazement. Finally his lips moved, soundlessly. _"OK."_

In the end, they had to go to Saitô again, there was no other way to get the space and equipment they needed without Kenji getting picked up by the police. Kenshin and Kaoru were allowed to be with him, holding his hand, until the very last moment when his eyes finally closed.

They had not thought they would be able to do it, walk away from him, leave him, when he'd been staring silently at them in that desperate way. Yet he looked so peaceful when he was asleep that they managed, with Megumi's coaxing and Saitô's impatient snapping and the very last ounce of their willpower, to retreat. Then they waited.

o.o.o.o.o

It was very late at night when Kenji woke. He did not realize for a long time that he was awake, and when he did, he opened his eyes. That tiny flicker in the dark room alerted Kenshin at once, and he leaned in close. "Kenji? How are you feeling?"

"...Mm...Dad...?"

"I'm here, son," he found himself saying too quickly. "Are you all right?"

"Where's...Mom?"

"She's sleeping," Kenshin said soothingly, "She's sleeping right there, can you see her?"

"...No." He felt so tired, so very, very heavy. There was no way he could move, and he suddenly really hoped that he wasn't tied down again. He did not have the time nor the strength to ask, because he could already feel himself slipping away again. "Where's...?" He had to work hard to remember what he ought to call this man's wife, and did not realize that his words were the exact same as when he had asked for Megumi, "...Where's Mom?"

"I told you, she's right here," Kenshin murmured.

Kenji was confused, knowing that there had been a miscommunication but unable to expend the effort to figure out where it had gone wrong. "...'S it...over?"

Kenshin sighed heavily, but his voice was brightly encouraging as he said, "About half of it is. Next time you wake, Kenji, it will all be over."

Kenji tried to acknowledge that he had heard, but he couldn't quite remember how to do it, and while he was still trying to figure it out, he fell asleep again.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ken-nii? You okay?"

Kenji blinked, wondering why Ayame and Suzume were here, staring at him. Then he realized that it was because they were here, staring at him.

What?

He managed to raise his head a little (he was quite proud of himself for that, in the back of his mind), and found out that he was home. Oh yeah. He had been awake before, too, when they had been trying to tell him something. He realized belatedly that they had been trying to tell him they were taking him home, because they couldn't keep him hidden anymore.

_'Man, I am _really_ drugged up. I think.'_ He had to let his head drop down again. "Aya...'Zume...glad you're here," he managed, with a little twitch of his leaden lips that was meant to be a smile.

Their answering smiles were so relieved, so sweet and beautiful, that he fell asleep again at peace.

He was not sure which was worse, his utter stupidity when he was stuffed full of medication, or the severe pain that came without it. The drugs, probably. He was used to pain, and if it was the price for lucidity, for being able to string intelligent thoughts together and have more than rudimentary communication with the people he loved, so be it.

He did not want to see his own back. He did not have to for a long time, during his recovery. He was glad of this, for he kept imagining it as a huge, ugly clump of twisted scar tissue, so thick he could feel nothing through it, so sensitive that the slightest touch sent pain flaring through his whole body. He found himself thinking of his back like it was not a part of him, like it was some foreign organism that had decided to attach itself to him and get in the way of his life. "Will therapy make it go away?" he interrupted without thinking.

"What?" Megumi said, looking slightly confused. "You mean the pain? Well, in the long term, yes, but you know it's going to hurt a lot in the beginning-"

"No, that's not what I- never mind." He saw her exasperated expression. "Look, let's just get this over with, okay?"

His back was not a congealed lump of scar tissue after all. There were many scars, thin pale ones twisting and criss-crossing all across his flesh, but his back was slim and straight. There was no sign of the turtle shell he felt like he had been lugging around. It made the therapy a little easier to bear.

Over time, the pain began to dim until it was almost entirely gone. To his amazement, the fragile things that could now emerge cleanly from his back, splotchily-colored and lumpy where the joints had been re-fitted and re-healed, grew strong enough to lift him, to carry him short distances. He would never be able to come even close to the range or speed of the others, but just to have come so far was a miracle.

The first time he was able to ride the winds together with his family, he cried, and knew that it had been worth it.

_To be concluded..._

Author's Notes: Since I didn't get a chance to work this into the actual story, I'll just mention it here until I have time to do so: **Saitou's not going to let Kenji off the hook forever, eventually he'll run out of patience with Kenji's excuses and try to arrest him. Whether Kenshin and Kaoru successfully avoid this or not is up to you, and the epilogue and sequels are set so far in the future anyway that it doesn't matter.**

**I didn't really want to turn Sano into a dragon (I don't think it suits him), but I kind of needed him to be one** if I ever get to write the sequel to this.

The part where Kenji and the others escape from the building gave me a ton of trouble, fighting me every step of the way before I realized what needed to be done. Originally, it was just Kenji and Kenshin trying to get out, and they had a scene on the roof (where Kenji is forced to tell him about his wings) which was pretty short but which I liked very much. Unfortunately, there were some problems, such as Kenshin's huge size and the level of their injuries.

To my amazed displeasure, I was blocked again until I realized that I was going to have to _completely_ re-write the scene, which would solve the problems but lose everything I'd liked about the original scene. Usually, I am able to integrate the surviving pieces of cut scenes into the re-written ones, but not this time. I am unhappy about that, although in the re-write I did get to include some things about Kenji's past that were kind of important to know but which would not have been adequately explained otherwise. I'll probably include the original scene somewhere in the omake.


	13. Epilogue

_The Lost Hatchling_, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Epilogue - Flight **(ROUGH DRAFT)**

A/N:** Make sure you guys didn't miss chapter 12, "Broken Wings"** (it was posted simultaneously).

o.o.o**  
**

Sometime later, Kenji came bursting into his parents' house and up the stairs, yelling.

Kenshin and Kaoru had been working on the baby's room again, re-doing the worn walls with a fresh, brighter design. At the sound of their son's cries, they dropped everything and spun to face the doorway, then relaxed when they found that Kenji's face was alight not with fear, but with delight.

"Mom!" Kenji screeched, pouncing at her and scooping her up in his arms so that he could spin her around, laughing wildly. "Mom, Mom, Mom, wonderful news, best news in the world!"

"Kenji!" Kenshin exclaimed, alarmed, "Put your mother down, she's in no condition to roughhouse with."

"Oh, cut it out," Kaoru told him, even as Kenji spun to a halt and set her back on her feet, as gently as if she was made of glass. "It's not like I'm going to _break_, I'm not even showing."

"Yeah, you are," Kenji lied teasingly, poking at her stomach. "Mommy's getting fat."

Kaoru swatted at him good-naturedly, and he laughed as he ducked away. "What's this oh-so-important news you came screaming in here about?" she reminded him affectionately.

His face lit up again. "Oh! Right! Mom, Dad, I told her! About the dragons and even the hitokiri stuff, _everything_!"

They stared at him. "And," Kenshin finally said, "I assume she took the news well?"

"She doesn't hate me," Kenji said rapturously. "She still loves me. She still wants to be with me. Zel is the most awesome woman in the _world_!" He paused and grinned, swooping forward to kiss his mother's cheek. "Well, next to you and Megumi, of course."

"Kenji," Kaoru said, tears of happiness glimmering in her eyes, "that is so wonderful."

"That you're the best woman in the world?" Kenshin murmured in her ear, slipping his arms around her so that his hands rested over her belly and the new life that was growing there.

"Well, that too," Kaoru sniffed playfully. The smiles kept bursting through on all three of them, as they stared at each other and thought of Kenji's future. "But Kenji, you can't believe how happy we are. When are you bringing her to meet us?"

"Huh? Meet Zel?" Kenji said in puzzlement, since his parents and his girlfriend - fiancée, now - were already well acquainted.

"She means," Kenshin explained, with a slightly mischievous smile, "when are you going to bring her to meet the _real_ Himuras? Not the nice, normal family she thinks we've been all this time."

Kenji's grin widened so that it looked like it was going to split his face. "As soon as she'll let me. Tonight? Is tonight too soon?"

"Anything for you, sweetheart," Kaoru told him, kissing his cheek. He threw his arms around her one last time and kissed her back, and punched his father affectionately in the shoulder. Then, laughing, unable to contain all the wonderful emotions coursing through him, he spun away and ran to launch himself joyfully out the window.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: **Again, this epilogue takes place looooong after the rest of the story. And I doubt this new kiddo was planned, but K&K are happy about him all the same.**

I have a long prequel and two short sequels planned, though of course it might be a very long time before I have anything besides the omake ready to post. The final installment is a Busô Renkin crossover, so it'll have to be posted separately, but I'll be able to add the others onto this fic as new "chapters."


End file.
